Triplets
by goldie031
Summary: Katniss and Peeta have faced two straight Hunger Games, a war, and two pregnancies. But now, they must face something even more difficult. Triplets. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Authors Note and Backstory

**So, I am now starting story number three! This story is a bit different than my other two, because it takes place in an alternate universe from my other two stories. I wanted to start out with a chapter, but there was a lot of back-story (as usual) which I wanted to avoid, but failed miserably. In this story, everything that happened in Mockingjay still happened, but there are two things that are different.**

**First of all, there is a little change at the end of Mockingjay, which is as follows: When the rebel medics get there, someone realizes that Prim is too young to go into combat, so she is tasked with rounding up the children that weren't blown up. They all somehow manage to get out except for one, a toddler girl. Prim reaches over the barrier to get her, when the next round of bombs go off. The girl got a horrible burn on her legs and Prim gets a bunch of nasty scars on her arms that are still there. Most of those children end up being orphans, and are then sent to an orphanage.**

**Katniss and Prim visited the orphanage many times. One time, when they were there with there mother, they met a 10-year-old girl named Jazmyne. She looked like a little Prim: blond hair with pink tips, blue eyes with gold flecks, short, and sweet. Jazmyne also had a spunk about her that was undeniable. They decided to adopt her, so she went back to 12.**

**Prim decided to go to District 4 with Mrs. Everdeen, and helped her in the hospital there. However, she missed Katniss and District 12 so much that she moved back and opened up a clinic there. Katniss's mother is still in 4 now as a doctor. Jazmyne went with Katniss to 12, and lived with her until she met her boyfriend, Vick Hawthorne. Prim married Rory Hawthorne.**

**This takes place in the year equivalent to the 90th Hunger Games; meaning that Katniss is 32, Prim is 28, and Jazmyne is 24. The story begins on the day of the epilogue. To explain the names, Dalia means either "dweller in the valley" or "branch", which I felt was appropriate since Katniss is in the woods, a possible valley, and she hid her arrows in a hollow log - a branch of sorts. OK, I just liked the name. Kenneth means "Born of fire" which I felt was appropriate because Katniss is the Girl on Fire.**

**I think that's it. So, without further adieu, I present to you, Triplets.**


	2. Chapter 1: A Big Surprise

**Here's the first exciting chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The tiny feet pitter-pattered across the floor. The door creaked open, and the two little body pounced on the bed.

"Mommy, Mommy, wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Katniss Everdeen-Mellark groggily opened her eyes, only to see her children, 5-year-old Dalia Rue and 1-year-old Kenneth Finnick in her bed with her. "What is it, guys?"

"You promised you'd take us to the Meadow today!" Dalia said.

Katniss silently cursed. Dalia was right, as usual. She DID forget. Thinking, she said, "You know, Dalia, a whole day is a really long time to go to the meadow. Why don't we go until 1 o'clock and then you can go to one of your aunts' house, and you can pick. OK?"

"OK," Dalia says. Kenneth, always following his sister, says "Ya."

"Which aunt do you want to go to? Prim or Jazzy?"

"Both of them!" Dalia answers. "Ya," Aster adds.

"No, you have to pick one."

"Ok, Jazzy."

"Ya."

"Good. Now, you go to your rooms and I'll be there in a minute," Katniss said gently. The two run out.

Peeta was not in the bed. He was evidently making breakfast downstairs. Katniss donned a loose-fitting, aqua-,colored shirt and black yoga pants. She brushed and braided her hair, put on boots, and then called Jazmyne.

"Hey, Jazzy."

"Hi, Katniss. What's up?"

"I need you to take Dalia and Kennyth for today. I have an OB/GYN appointment at 2."

"Sure! I love playing with them."

"All right; I'll drop them off around 1:30. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Always happy to help."

Katniss hung up feeling good. Then, she went to dress her kids.

First, she went into Dalia's room. Dalia was laying on her bed, reading a book.

"What do you want to wear, sweetie?"

"My pink shirt. My favorite one!"

"No. You wore that yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. How about your pretty blue sundress?"

"OK."

Katniss thanked God for her flexible daughter. Then, she helped her into a sky blue sundress, a matching blue headbabd, and white sandals. After a liberal application of sunscreen, Katniss got Kenneth, and they all went downstairs.

Peeta was downstairs with an apron on, finishing up his cheesy buns for Katniss and the kids. Suddenly, he heard, "Daddy, Daddy!" Peeta scooped up his daughter and twirled her around. Dalia giggled with glee.

"How's my little girl today?"

"Super-duper!"

Peeta set Dalia down in her seat and served her a cheesy bun. Then, he turned around and saw Katniss holding Kenneth. Katniss and Peeta kissed each other on the cheek. Then, Peeta took Kenneth and put him in his high chair.

"What's on the agenda for today?"

"Meadow," Katniss said. "Until 1, then Daisy and Kenneth go to Jazzy's and we go to the OB/GYN."

"That means we need lunch. Peanut butter and honey for Dalia, PB&J for Aster, and grilled cheese for me and you, right?"

"Yup."

"Daddy, when's my birthday?" Dalia asked.

"Well, today is September 1st, and your birthday is March 15th, so 6 months and 10 days."

"That's a long time."

"Yeah. But your half-birthday is in 10 days."

"YAY!"

Peeta loved how his daughter was easy to please.

* * *

After breakfast, Katniss helped Kenneth into clothes and lathered both of her kids with sunscreen. Then, they went to the meadow.

Upon their arrival, Dalia and Kenneth started to frolic in the meadow. They played together, and as Katniss looked on, she saw something that she normally saw between her and Prim: Dalia was really caring to Kenneth, and was showing him around. They toddled around the meadow, and Katniss was filled with bliss.

* * *

Katniss walked her kids over to Jazmyne's house. Jazmyne would be marrying her boyfriend, Vick Hawthorne, in February.

"Hi, Aunt Jazzy!" Dalia exclaimed.

"Hi," Kenneth added.

"Hello, my darling niece and nephew. Do you guys want to help me get ready for my wedding?"

They nodded.

"Let's go!"

Kenneth said, "Bye, Mommy," and toddled into the house. Dalia threw her arms around her mother. The blue eyes met the grey, and Dalia ran into the house.

"Not clingy, is she?"

"Nope. Now, Ken is still getting the hang of walking."

"He's a late developer, isn't he?"

"Well, Mom says that it is normal to be late or early, it just depends on the kids. If he falls, just pick him back up and give him a kiss. Dalia will also know what to do."

"OK. Love you. Good luck!"

"You too."

Katniss headed back home, where Peeta was waiting with the car. The two got in and drove to the doctor.

* * *

Upon their arrival, Katniss and Peeta were led into a room with a bed and a few machines. Katniss said, "I hope I'm ready for this."

"Me too," Peeta repied.

Their doctor, Mrs. Everdeen, came in. "Hello, Katniss, Peeta, how are you?"

"Great. Let's get started."

Katniss's mother waved a stick over Katniss's stomach. "It's a new x-ray device from the Capitol," she explained. After she finished waving it around, she let it develop. Suddenly, the picture appeared on a screen.

"Well, Katniss, you are pregnant," Mrs. Everdeen said.

"Great!" Peeta said.

"Dalia and Kenneth will have a little sibling!" Katniss added.

"Actually, three. Congradulations Katniss, you are having triplets!

* * *

**So, there's the first chapter. What do you think? Review pretty please?**

**-goldie031**


	3. Author's Note

**Hey, everyone.**

**Well, I have "good" news - my school started on Tuesday! YAY! (sarcasm.) Anyway, as a result, I will have a lot less time to write, until my school gets us laptops, when I'll be able to type a bit in some classes. Secretly, of course. Also, I'm going to be losing 7 days of writing time in September/October. As I'm Jewish, I celebrate the Jewish holidays, so I can't use electronics or write during that time. But, I'll be doing a lot of writing otherwise, as much as I can, and after October, everything will be a lot easier because there are no holidays. Anyway, please don't think of me differently due to my religion, and I can't wait to keep writing.**

**Oh, one more thing. After my busy summer, where I wrote practically no chapters, I have a newfound desire to write. Oh, and to get reviews. So, I won't be that annoying person who will withhold chapters if I don't get reviews,but I'd appreciate getting them. A startling new chapter is in the works that I can't wait for you to read! See you then!**

**-goldie031**

**Oh, by the way, this is going into ALL OF MY STORIES. So, if you see it here, and you are following multiple stories, there is not necessarily a need to check them all.**

**-g031**


	4. Chapter 2: Flour and Cinnamon

**So, this is the next chapter. We'll see here a bit more about Katniss's pregnancy situation as well as see some foreshadowing. There's not so much I can say until the end of the chapter, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Triplets?"

Katniss couldn't believe her ears. There was no way she could be having triplets. It was just not possible.

"Yup, triplets," Dr. Everdeen responded. "I can hardly believe it either, but look at the x-ray."

Katniss did so, and saw three fetuses. "Yup, triplets."

"I can hardly believe it either!" Dr. Everdeen said.

"But, how did it happen?"

"We won't know for sure until they're born so that we get a sense of who's identical or fraternal or what."

"How far am I?"

"3 months or so. I'd say you're due around March 15th."

"But that's Dalia's birthday!"

"Yeah, but remember, since there are 3 of them, once one is ready to come out, they're all coming out. So, the chance of them coming out even a week before the due date is low, and on the due date is minuscule."

"OK. Good. When can I start to tell people?"

"Really, at any time, since you're at a pretty stable point in the pregnancy. Peeta and Prim know that you're pregnant, right?"

"Naturally."

"OK. So make sure that they know first. And don't tell Dalia and Kenneth until you want the whole country to know."

"Why?"

"When I told you that you were getting a little sister, the whole district practically know in 10 minutes."

Katniss giggled.

"OK, gotta go, Mom. Love you."

"You too, honey."

Katniss left the doctor's office and headed right for Prim's house to pick up her kids. She knocked on the door, and Prim opened it.

"Hey, Prim!"

"Hi, Kat! How was the appointment?"

"I'm due with triplets."

"No."

"Yup!"

"Wow, that's so cool!"

"Yeah."

Katniss went inside to see Dalia reading Kenneth a story.

"Hi, guys."

"Mommy!" Dalia exclaimed, jumping up to hug her mother.

"Ready to go?"

"Yup!" Dalia said.

"Ya," added Kenneth.

The two kids thanked their aunt, and Katniss led her kids home.

* * *

When they got home, Peeta was baking a cake.

"Who for, honey?" Katniss asked.

"A sample cake for Jazzy. She wants me to make her wedding cake. I can't decide what flavor. This is cake 4."

"Can I help?" Dalia exclaimed?

"Let me talk to mommy for a minute first, and then you can. Can you take Kenneth and put him down for his nap?"

"Sure!"

Dalia picked up Kenneth and took him upstairs to his room.

"How was?"

"Triplets."

"What?"

"I'm due with triplets!"

"Oh, I'm so happy!"

"Me too, honey. Me too."

"When do we tell people?"

"Well, Mom said I can tell people at any time, so why not after dinner tonight? I mean, she did say not to tell the kids until we wanted the country to know, but Kenneth is so silent and Dalia is going to simply be making friends tomorrow, not telling so much about herself. I think we should tell them after dinner today. And then talk to Dalia alone after."

"Got it."

Dalia nearly skipped in. "Ready!"

"OK, honey. Cake 4 is red velvet. So, what do we need?"

"FLOUR!" Dalia exclaimed, running to the shelf to grab the flour. Unfortunately, the flour shelf was a few inches taller than Dalia, which was just enough taller than her for Dalia to grab the bottom of the sack and spill flour all over her and the kitchen, as the sack itself landed on her head.

"Whoops," she said, as she lifted up the edge of the sack to reveal her face.

"Don't move, Katniss exclaimed, running to grab her camera and a change of clothes for Dalia. She snapped many pictures, and then stripped her daughter and wiped her down with a wet washcloth. Then, she gave Dalia a green shirt and black pants, and sent her back to the kitchen.

"Apron," Dalia concluded, grabbing her favorite pink one and putting it on.

By the end, Dalia had proven to be much more helpful than she appeared, and had even learned to crack an egg, only dropping about 4 eggs in the process. When they put the cake in the oven, Dalia was incredibly proud of herself.

"Great job, honey!"

"Thanks, Daddy."

"You're so much more patient than I can ever be," Katniss pointed out, as Dalia headed to her room to read.

"I try. She has a lot of potential to be a great baker. She reminds me of my sister, Cinnamon."

"Who?"

"Well, Cinnamon, or Cinny, as we called her, is my little sister. She was born when I was 2. I love her. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked so like Prim, it's uncanny. She was so sweet and happy, and had this adorable little laugh. When she turned 4, she was sent to 4 to be with her aunt. I haven't seen her since."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. No contact, not even pictures. And this is also interesting. Cinny seemed to bring something out in my mother. She was so much nicer when Cinny was there. When she left, that's when Mom became abusive. Yet, it was Mom who wanted to send Cinny there. The annoying thing is, I don't even know what happened to her during the rebellion. I have no clue if she lived or died."

"Weird. Do you think you could ever find out?"

"No clue."

"Mom, Ken's up!" Dalia yelled. Katniss ran upstairs to tend to her son.

Dalia went into her room and thought about what she'd heard. She hadn't actually gone to her room, rather, she had eavesdropped on her parents from the top of the stairs. She couldn't believe her ears.

* * *

After dinner that night, Katniss sat her kids on the couch in between her and Peeta. Dalia knew that something big was coming; the last time this happened, she'd gotten a brother.

"Dalia, Kenneth, we have some big news for you. Your mother is having triplets."

"Really?" Dalia exclaimed. She loved her brother, and would be so happy to have another three siblings to care for.

"Yup. Now, because of this, we're going to really need your help. When they're born, you're going to have to help with them and understand that we may not be able to give you as much attention. But, that's not for another 6 months."

"What's triplets?" Kenneth asked.

"It means that your mother is going to have 3 babies almost at the same time. So, there will be three little babies in the house that we'll have to take care of."

Kenneth nodded with some sort of understanding.

"Now, Dalia, we need to talk to you about something else. You're not in trouble, but it is important. Kenneth, Mommy will tuck you in, and I'll come up after we talk to your sister."

Kenneth and Katniss headed up to his room, and minutes later Katniss returned downstairs.

"Dalia, tomorrow is a very special day," Katniss said.

"My first day of school!"

"Yes," Peeta continued. "Now, we have to wake you up at 7 tomorrow morning. You'll wear a very special dress, the same dress that your mother wore on her first day. Then, we're going to walk you to a special meeting place where all the other kids in your grade will be, and you'll walk to school together with an older kid. At the end of the day, you'll meet at the door of the school and that kid will walk you and your class home. KK?"

"All right," Dalia said.

"Now, let's get you to bed so that you're ready for tomorrow. OK?"

Dalia nodded, and let her father pick her up and carry her to her room.

Dalia can't help but look around at her room as a tradition of sorts. She's done that nearly every time she enters her room, even though she's entered the same room with the same paint job for 5 years.

Her carpet is a grassy green that feels like grass when she walks on it. There are little flowers poking up here and there in the carpet. Sometimes, Dalia would just walk on the carpet for a while. Going up, about half her wall is painted with grass. It looked like real grass, too. Flowers could be seen here and there on the wall. Above the grass is painted light blue to look like sky, as is the ceiling, and butterflies can be seen here and there. The largest butterfly is on top of Dalia's headboard. Her light is shaped like a sun. On the wall across from her door is her dresser, night table, and her bed, which is against the wall, extending out along the wall to the left of the door about halfway down the wall. Her sheets are a light blue color. In between Dalia's dresser and night table is one dahlia flower, painted beautifully and intricately. Dalia has a little toy-bin on the wall across from her bed. It consists of some dolls and blocks, as well as some dress-up clothes. All of her furniture is made out of light colored wood.

Next to her door is a closet. The closet's doors are painted to match the room. The closet itself is a walk-in closet, but not a huge one, and her clothes are organized by color. Her closet only has dressy shirts, skirts, dresses, and shoes in it, and her dresser contains undergarments & socks, shirts, pants, and shorts.

Dalia settled into bed, and pulled her covers over her body. She thought about the upcoming day, and was quite nervous. Would she make friends? Would she be lonely? Before she could worry too much, she settled into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I am extremely excited about this one, as well as next one, because next chapter we get to focus a bit more on Dalia. We'll be sorta alternating between Dalia and Katniss over the course of the story. Now, I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to update here again, but I STRONGLY advise following my other stories, Only Time Will Tell and Rue Returns, as well. You'll be able to get a sense of when I'm on, what I'm working on, etc. **

**I have big plans for next chapter. I can't wait for you to read it!**

**-goldie031**


	5. Chapter 3: The First Day

**OK, so here we go again! Dalia's first day of school! Isn't this exciting? I can't wait for you to read this super-cute chapter!**

* * *

"Dalia, honey, wake up! It's time for your first day of school!"

Dalia felt her mother shaking her awake. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Yay!" she said, and swung her legs so that she was sitting next to her mother.

"Let's get you dressed," Katniss said. She helped her daughter into a red-and-white checkered dress, white socks, and black patent-leather shoes. She then braided Dalia's hair into 2 braids, tied each with a hair ribbon, and clipped a red barrette on the left side of her head. "You look great, honey."

"Is this the exact dress that you wore?"

"No, not the exact same dress, but a very similar dress. We had to give the original dress away, because Aunt Prim and I grew out of it. Maybe one of your new siblings will also wear this dress."

"Maybe..."

Katniss and Dalia headed downstairs only to see Peeta chasing Kenneth around the couch.

"He took my whisk," Peeta explained. "I'm making a super-big batch of cheese buns so that we can have quick breakfasts every morning. But even though I have already made 6 batches, I want to make a few more."

'Yummy!" Dalia exclaimed, and hopped onto a stool next to the island in her kitchen. Peeta served her two cheese buns, and Dalia gobbled them down.

Meanwhile, Katniss was packing Dalia's pink backpack.

"Folder, pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils... what else do you need, Dalia?"

"I don't think I need anything else. Lunchbox?"

"Daddy's finishing it up. I think you've got everything."

Katniss zipped up the bag. It was monogrammed with her initials - D.R.E-M.

"Dalia," Peeta said. "Do you remember what mommy and I told you about the letter A?"

"Yeah. You said that if you add it in between my two last names it makes the word Dream."

"I just wanted to remind you that what ever you dream, you can do. Dream big, honey, and you'll be great."

Peeta kissed his daughter on her forehead. She brushed her teeth and went to wait on the porch with her parents.

* * *

Posy Hawthorne headed to the meeting place, right across from Katniss's house. Katniss spotted Posy and headed over to talk to her.

"I didn't know you were teaching!" Katniss exclaimed.

"I'm just doing some aiding to get my master's degree. They asked me to lead the littlest kids to school."

"Well, keep an eye on Dalia, would you?"

"Of course."

More younger kids came up to Posy. Katniss saw a little redhead that reminds her of Foxface, and, heading back to the porch, pointed her out to Peeta.

"I wonder what her name is..." she said.

"Me too."

Dalia tapped her mother's shoulder. "Ready, Mommy."

"Come here, honey," Katniss said, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Have a great day. I love you."

"Love you too, Mommy."

Peeta hugged his little girl. "You'll do great. Make some new friends and have fun."

Dalia waves goodbye and skips over to Posy.

"Boy, I can't believe how grown up she is," Katniss said.

"I know," Peeta replied. "She's not really our little girl anymore."

"Let's hope our new babies don't grow up as fast."

* * *

Dalia walked over to the large group forming. Teachers were all over the place with signs for different grades. 3rd Graders and up were directed straight to the building, 2nd graders to one place, 1st Graders to a separate place, and Kindergarteners to a third place. Dalia went to the Kindergarten sign.

"What's your name, honey?" A woman asked.

"Dalia Everdeen-Mellark," Dalia responded.

The woman checked off a name, leaving Dalia to mingle with the other kids.

Dalia found herself next to a redhead.

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"Dalia."

"I'm Finch."

"Nice to meet you!"

"You too."

"Let's be friends."

"OK."

"Kindergarteners! Everyone, eyes on me!"

All the Kindergarten kids turned their heads to Posy.

"My name is Posy Hawthorne, and I am a Kindergarten aide this year. That means that I'll be in the classroom with you guys everyday along with 4 other people. Now, in a few months, you'll be able to walk to school alone, but for now, we want to make sure you all get there safe and sound. So, you'll be walking with me and Miss Leila in the back. Let's get going!"

The group started to walk.

Dalia and Finch walked together to school getting to know each other. Dalia learned that Finch was named after her aunt that had died. Finch learned that Dalia was named after a friend of her mother's (Katniss's) who died.

When they got to school, they were led into a large classroom with a big circular rug in the center.

"Welcome to Kindergarten!" a large woman said. "My name is Mrs. Anderson, and I will be your teacher. Let's sit in a circle on the rug."

All of the kids gathered in a circle. Dalia sat next to Finch.

"So, why don't you start," Mrs. Anderson said pointing to Dalia. "We're going to go around and say our names and favorite colors. OK?"

All of the kids nodded.

"Let's start."

"I'm Dalia," Dalia said, "and my favorite color is PINK!"

Finch went next. "I'm Finch, and I like orange."

As everyone went around, Dalia lost track of how many kids had gone. One girl caught her eye, though. She had straight black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin - no freckles. She introduced herself as Hannah, with her favorite color being blue. Dalia wanted to get to know her later.

"I'm Bella, and I like yellow."

"I'm Annie, and sea-green's my favorite!"

"I'm Timothy, and I think forest green is really pretty."

The names just kept coming and coming. Dalia couldn't keep track of them all. But she knew she'd learn all the names eventually.

After they got to the last person, a boy named Simon, Mrs Anderson pulled a chair up next to Dalia.

"OK, class, now we're going to have a little bit of play time before snack. OK?"

All of the kids noded, and ran to different stations.

Dalia found herself drawing at a table. She wanted a little time alone. She colored in a picture of a princess, and made sure to only color inside the lines. Sometimes, Dalia liked a little peace and quiet.

* * *

"Snack time!"

All of the kindergarteners ran to the snack area, where there were 10 little tables. "Four of you will sit at a table. You'll sit at a different table every day to try to get to know new people. OK? Now, go find a seat!"

Dalia found herself at a table with Finch, Hannah, and Bella. Bella had blond, curly hair and brown eyes. She seemed a bit shy, but was nice as well.

Mrs. Anderson came around with

"Do you guys have any siblings?" asked Dalia.

"Nope," Bella replied. "Just me."

"I have a little sister named Vixen and a little brother named Canis," Finch said.

"I have a twin named Max. He and I are very different; I'm a bit smarter, but he's a great athlete," added Hannah. "What about you, Dalia?"

"I have a little brother named Kenneth," Dalia said, "and my mom is pregnant with triplets."

"That'll be tough," Hannah said. "I have trouble with having one twin. Having four little siblings will be impossible!"

"But one will probably be a girl."

"True. That'll make it easier."

"Are you excited for the babies to be born?" asked Bella, not knowing what that was like.

"Somewhat. It'll be different."

"That's for sure," Finch said. "Things changed a lot when Canis was born."

"How old is he?"

"Two months."

"I wish I had a sibling," Bella said wistfully.

"Maybe you'll get one someday!"

"Maybe..."

* * *

The first day of kindergarten went quickly for the 40 kids, as the first day of something usually does. Before anyone knew it, it was time to like up to go home. Dalia found herself next to Hannah.

"Do you want to have a playdate?" Hannah asked.

"Sure! Let's ask our parents when they pick us up."

The two walked together down the road to the meeting place, where a crowd of parents had gathered to retrieve their kids. Dalia ran straight to her mother.

"Hi honey," Katniss said, hugging her daughter. "How was school?"

"Fun! I want you to meet my friend! We want to have a playdate."

Katniss was dragged over to where Hannah was talking with her mother and brother.

"Mommy, this is Hannah," Dalia said. "We wanna have a playdate."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hannah. Can I talk to your mommy?"

"Sure!" Hannah said. "MOMMY!"

A woman with blond hair and blue eyes came over to the group. In tow was a boy with curly black hair and blue eyes.

"That's my twin," Hannah whispered to Dalia. Dalia nodded.

"Hi, I'm Katniss Everdeen," Katniss said, extending her arm to the woman. Hannah's mother took it and replied, "Cinnamon Mellark."

* * *

I'm sorry this chapter took me so long, but I kept changing my mind as to how to write the chapter, which kids Dalia should meet, how that last scene should play out, etc. Plus, I was going to make the chapter a bit longer, but all I needed was two names, and I wasn't going to hold off the chapter for two names that I really couldn't find. So, here you go.

Anyway, so what do you think about the reappearance of Cinnamon? If you couldn't figure out that that was going to happen, I am evidently very bad at foreshadowing. Also, did you like the first day of Kindergarten? As you can probably guess, I won't be focusing on all 40, but I will name them all. We know 7 right now: Dalia, Bella, Finch, Hannah, Max, Annie, and Timothy. The other 33 we'll meet over time. I mean, I have to come up with names at some point!

Next chapter, Peeta and Cinny will reunite and we'll see a few more days of Kindergarten. Then, an announcement will be made that will give us a little bit more insight as to what happened after the Hunger Games ended. To give you a clue: Rue Returns. Anyway, now that the holidays are over, I'll be able to write more. I can't wait for you guys to read everything I've got in store!

Until the next chapter...

-goldie031


	6. Chapter 4: Reunited

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry this took so long. I was working on a chapter for Only Time Will Tell that just took forever. Then, Hurricane Sandy hit, and I lost 6 days of power. So, yeah.**

**Anyway, my 1-year anniversary on FF was on the 30th. Yay! I had wanted to get a chapter up for that, but...**

**This chapter contains 3 parts. First, the chapter picks up from where the last one left off, and coninues with Peeta and Cinny's reunion. Then, we have another OB/GYN appointment, which isn't as major in the chapter. Afterwards... well, I'll let you discover that for yourself. Enjoy!**

* * *

Katniss could hardly believe her ears.

"You're Cinnamon Mellark?" She said.

"Yeah. Why?"

At that point, it hit Katniss. Cinny had no recollection of 12.

"Come home with me, and bring your kids. We have some things we need to discuss."

"All right," she said.

Cinnamon beckoned to her children, as did Katniss, and the two brought their kids to Katniss's house.

Dalia, Max, Hannah, and Kenneth immediately ran up to Dalia's room to play. Katniss made Cinnamon a cup of coffee, and the two sat at Katniss's dining room table to talk.

"So, why did you come to 12?"

"Well, I always knew that I had once lived here, but I could never remember. So, I wanted to come back to my roots."

"Do you remember anything from your time here?"

"No. Not at all. The only memory I have is getting on the train, running into Aunt Emily's arms. That's my last memory for at least 3 years."

"So how did you know that you came from 12?"

"That's what my aunt told me when I came home from my first day of Kindergarten. I was the only kid in the class without green eyes. I asked Aunt Emily why, and she said that I came from District 12 to there."

"Did she tell you about having any siblings?"

"Nope."

"What if I told you that you have a brother?"

"Really?"

"Yup. Actually, you had 3 brothers, but two were killed in the bombings here in 12. Your other brother is my husband."

"So, you're my sister-in-law."

"Yeah."

"So we should tell the kids that they're cousins."

"Yeah."

Katniss and Cinny went up to Dalia's room, where she found the four kids playing... something together.

"Hi, guys!" Katniss said. "Can we talk to you for a minute?"

All of the kids nodded.

"We learned something very special today. Hannah and Max's mom is Dalia and Kenneth's daddy's sister."

"That means that you guys are cousins!" Cinny added.

"Really?" Hannah exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

Dalia nodded. "This is really exciting! I actually have cousins!"

"I know," Max said.

"So, you guys will be able to spend a lot more time together over the next few... well, years, really!" Katniss said. "And you'll get some new little cousins soon, Hannah and Max."

"I know, Dalia told me!" Hannah said. "You're having triplets."

Katniss sighed. It figured.

"That's so exciting!" exclaimed Cinny.

"I know," Katniss said, rubbing her stomach. "I can't wait to see these little guys."

"What can we call you?" asked Dalia, addressing Cinny.

"You two should call me Aunt Cinny."

"Hannah and Max, you can call me Aunt Katniss."

"Can we keep playing?" asked Kenneth.

"Sure," Katniss said, and the two mothers went back downstairs.

"When does Peeta get home?"

"Between 5 and 6. Which reminds me, I should start to make dinner. You can sit at the island and we can chat, if you'd like," Katniss said, as she began to bustle around the kitchen. Cinny walked into the kitchen and pulled out a stool at the island.

"Can I get you some water?" asked Katniss. Cinny nodded, and Katniss grabbed her a glass.

"So, what's your opinion on your kids having a relationship with my nieces and nephews on the other side?" asked Katniss.

"I don't mind it," replied Cinny. "As long as Thom's side of the family can also be involved. I think it'll be good if everyone is involved with the whole family."

"All right. So, tell me a bit about yourself."

The two talked for a while. Katniss told Cinny about her family here in 12, and what had happened, while Cinny told Katniss about life in 4. Suddenly, a key turned in the lock. Cinny sat straight up.

"Do you think he remembers me?" asked Cinny.

"I'm sure he does."

Peeta came into the kitchen.

"No way. Cinny?"

Cinny nodded.

Cinny and Peeta exchanged a hug.

"I can't believe it. My own sister!" Peeta said, shaking his head.

"I know. I never even knew I had a brother," replied Cinny.

The two caught each other's eye. Cinny saw a childish pleasure in Peeta's, and it made her all the more happy.

"So, what's for dinner?" asked Peeta, giving Katniss a peck on the cheek.

"Chicken and rice with spinach, plus chicken nuggets for the kids. Cinny, if you would like to stay and bring over Thom, that's fine."

"Sure! Let me go run and get him," Cinny said. "Can you just watch the kids while I'm gone?" Katniss nodded, and Cinny ran out.

"We've decided that we want to have my side of the family involved with Thom's side. So that our kids can have a few more 'cousins'," Katniss said to Peeta, as she began to set the table for 8. "What do you think?"

"I love the idea. You know I love kids, and that I've always wanted a large family."

"Great! We'll talk to Thom about it when he gets here."

Katniss finished setting the table. She then went to the bottom of the stairs leading up and called, "Dalia! Max! Kenneth! Hannah!"

"Coming," yelled Dalia. The sound of four pairs of feet running to the stairs could be heard from above. All four kids ran downstairs.

"Hannah, Max, your parents will be here for dinner soon. Go and wash your hands."

"ME FIRST!" exclaimed Dalia, and all four kids ran to the kitchen.

"Oh, gosh," mused Katniss. "Five kids is going to be a handful."

"Yeah," Peeta said.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Katniss went to get the door, and standing there were Cinny and Thom. "Come on in, guys," she said.

"Thank you so much for inviting us over," Thom said.

"Of course. Anything for family."

The four sat down at the dining room table. The kids ran in, and, as everyone took their seats, Katniss and Peeta brought out the food.

"So, Thom, we had this idea for you to be involved with my side of the family," Katniss said.

"That's a great idea! Actually, my younger brother, Pavi, is in love with Posy Hawthorne, so that's also involved with your side," Thom replied.

"I have an idea," said Peeta. "Victor's Village is being pretty unused at this point, so maybe we can move all of the parts of our family into the Village, including our remaining parents. I mean, it's a shame that these houses are being unused."

"And form our own community, of sorts?" Cinny replied.

"Exactly."

"Cool! I like it. Katniss?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it sounds cool."

Thom agreed.

"So, we'll get started to work on that later today or tomorrow," Peeta concluded. "Maybe you guys can move in to the house next door."

"That'd be great."

* * *

The next two weeks or so passed quickly. The plans to form their community were working well, as Cinny, Thom, Hannah, and Max, Mrs. Everdeen, and Prim & Rory had already moved in to the Village. Katniss was up for her OB/GYN appointment, two weeks after her last one.

Katniss made her way to the hospital in 12, where most regular doctor's visits also occurred. She was shown to an examination room, and Mrs. Everdeen came in.

"Well, Katniss, I've got bad news."

"What?" Katniss worriedly said.

"Well, you're still pregnant, but there was a little problem with your ultrasound."

"What was it?"

"We accidentally used the faulty machine. It froze one day while working on a patient with triplets, and it never worked again. So we're going to try with another machine and see what we get."

"So I might not be pregnant with triplets."

"It's possible."

Mrs Everdeen put some blue gel on Katniss' stomach, as she'd done with Katniss's other two kids.

"Why didn't you use this last time?"

"You don't really need it, but I find that things work better with it."

Mrs. Everdeen waved her wand over Katniss' stomach and observed the machine.

"Well, it seems that you're still pregnant with triplets, but it's a bit hard to tell, as you're just under 2 months along."

"Oh boy."

"Now, this means that there is a greater chance that they'll come out around Dalia's birthday. But, considering what I've seen with Dalia with the babies, I wouldn't be worried."

"Got it. When's the due date?"

"I'm required to tell you April 28th, but to be honest with you, they'll most likely come out between February 25th and March 28th."

"Got it."

"You know by now how to take care of your body. Remember, don't wear too tight of a dress for the wedding, got it?"

"Yeah. You're walking Jazzy down the aisle, right?"

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm walking my last daughter down the aisle."

"And remember, Jazzy isn't technically your daughter. We adopted her."

"I know."

Katniss checked her watch. 2:45, it read.

"Oh, gosh. I gotta go home to pick up Dalia. Love you, see you later."

"You too."

Katniss sorta ran out the door to try to get home in time. She did, getting home at 2:55.

The minute Dalia got home, she hugged her mother and ran outside to play. Katniss sighed. She knew it.

Katniss went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Suddenly, the TV blared on with the new seal of the country of Panem: a gold star on a white background surrounded by 13 smaller stars, each in the color representing one district. 1 is silver, 2 is white, 3 is yellow, 4 is blue, 5 is lime green, 6 is red, 7 is forest green, 8 is purple, 9 is beige, 10 is pink, 11 is dark brown, 12 is black, and 13 is grey. The individual districts' seals remain the same as before the rebellion.

When Panem's seal appears on the television like that, it means that a national broadcast is about to be displayed. Unlike the old government, it is not mandatory viewing, but it is strongly recommended that, if you don't view it, you at least hear about it. Katniss went to the couch to watch the broadcast.

President Paylor was visible on a stage in front of the Capitol's Justice Building, basically the center of Panem's government. Each district has 2 representatives in the government of Panem as well as up to 5 additional representatives based on the population and density of the district in question. The elections for president of Panem would begin after President Paylor's death, as Paylor was organizing the government and keeping it running.

"Greetings, Panem. I am pleased to announce that we have made an astounding achievement on the eradication of the Hunger Games. We have succeeded in bringing a tribute which has died in a previous Games back to life.

"This is a huge step in the eradication of the Hunger Games. As we have been able to do this with one tribute, we should be able to do so with some, if not all, of the other tributes who have competed, including the Victors who competed in the 3rd Quarter Quell.

"Of course, this will take time. We are working at about 20 tributes at a time to revive all of them, but there are many, many tributes, to get through. There is a process we are using to revive these tributes, so patience of the families of the tributes would be appreciated.

"Certain tributes will be kept back in the Captiol longer than others for some counseling based on their performance in their Games. Each tribute will go through a series of tests before returning to their district.

"Once we have revived a tribute, the most direct relative of that tribute will be contacted. If we contact you about a tribute, you have every right to ask to not have the tribute come to you. You can also ask to have contact with a tribute if you are unable for whatever reason to care for them.

"Victors who are still alive, or other figures from the rebellion, may be asked to assist our efforts in various ways. We ask their full cooperation in this.

"Please understand that this will take time, but we are proud of our achievements, and hope that this will assist in at least slightly blocking out a horrific period in the history of our country. Thank you."

"Horn of Plenty", the anthem of Panem, plays, as Paylor walks off the stage.

The Victors and rebellion figures, thinks Katniss. What will my role be?

A few moments later, the phone rings, and Katniss answers it.

"Hello, Katniss?" Paylor asks.

"Yes?"

"Did you see the broadcast?"

"Yup."

"Well, we have a request of you."

"No surprise. Go on."

"We have begun with the 74th Hunger Games. In those Games, four of the tributes have families that either don't want or can't take them back."

"Really?"

"Yes. We were wondering if you would take them in."

"What are their districts and ages?"

"There are two 13-year-olds, a 14-year-old, and a 12-year old. The 3, 8, 9, and 11 females."

"So, one would be Rue."

"Bingo."

Katniss took a deep breath. She knew that, accepting this task, would make things incredibly difficult over the next months. But, it was important to help eradicate the Hunger Games in any way possible. Plus, having extra hands around the house would be great!

"I'll do it," Katniss said confidently.

"Great. So, the tribute that we woke up is actually one that will be coming to you."

"I figured," Katniss said. Her smirk could practically be heard through the phone.

"Her name is Tessa Rae Stalk, and she's from 9."

"Tessa... Rae... tessarae. You're joking."

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Well, that's part of her backstory. Her mother's brother was killed in the Games. Both her parents had always favored boys, and were actually looking forward to a boy, but Tessa was born. So, they named her Tessa Rae because her father was a tessarae producer for 9. You know, cause 9 is grain. She was despised by her parents, and, when her brother, Lorius, named after Tessa's uncle, was born, Tessa was disregarded, practically, by her parents. Lorius was brought up hating his sister. It really persisted through his whole life, and they really did rejoice, as a family, when Tessa was reaped. When we contacted them about Tessa's reawakening, they basically said that, no, we do not, under any circumstances, want her back! So, we decided that, as the most recognizable Victor and feature of the rebellion, that you would be a good person to go to."

"I'm proud to help. Is Tessa the only person awake?"

"Well, no. As you can probably tell, I weren't completely honest with my speech. Actually, 6 tributes are what we would technically consider awake, but only 2 are conscious. Tessa, and Sebastian Aronig, the male from 4. He is very young, just 12, so we're glad that his body responded so well."

"Where's he going?"

"Annie Cresta. It makes sense, as she is the only living Victor from his district, 4. Also, about 6 or 7 tributes are in comas, which means that their brains are responding, but they're not conscious."

"So, when will Tessa be here?"

"Tomorrow around noon. We have to send her over to a final group of tests tomorrow morning. But, then, we'll be able to hovercraft her over to you. I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Got it. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, by the way, I hear you're pregnant."

"Yup. Triplets! Does all of Panem know yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Then hold off for a little bit. There was a malfunction with the ultrasound, so we thought that I was 3 months along when I was actually 2 months along. So, my pregnancy isn't completely stable yet. I'll give you the OK, though. How'd you find out?"

"Your mom told me."

"Well, try your best to keep mum..."

"I'll try. Let's just pray that the tabloids aren't tapping this line."

"Yup. I'll see you tomorrow when I drop off Tessa."

"You too."

"Goodbye."

" 'Bye."

Katniss hung up the phone. What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

Tessa Rae Stalk was talking with Sebastian Aronig in their workout gym, which was once the training gym. They spent hours sitting there talking and getting to know each other. They had nothing better to do.

It had been just one month since Tessa had woken up. She remembered running to the Cornucopia, darkness, and then... a blinding light. People standing over her. The beep of machines.

Complete confusion.

For the next two weeks, she went through therapy, tutoring, and many tests. She had her own private tutor, a woman named Amber. But she was lonely.

Finally, Sebastian woke up. The two had become practically inseparable. They were each other's best friend.

"Tessa?" Sebatian said, jolting her from her daydream.

"What?"

"What do you think will happen to us?"

"I don't know."

A Capitol attendant entered the gym. "Tessa?" she said, in her soothing voice.

"Yes, Lunea?"

"President Paylor would like to speak to you."

Tessa gulped. "All right."

As she left the room, she looked back at Sebastian. He winked at her, and she could feel her heart flutter.

Tessa was led into a comfortable office with a plush armchair for her to sit. The President was seated at her desk, and she motioned for Tessa to take a seat.

"So, Tessa, how are you doing?"

"All right. You?"

"Perfectly fine. I have some news for you. You're going back to the districts."

"Not to my parents, I hope. I despise them!"

"Oh, don't worry. You're not going there."

"So, where am I going?"

"12."

"Twelve? Why twelve, of all places."

"Well, we're putting any tributes that don't have families that will take them or that are still alive and having them stay with either Victors that are alive or figures of the rebellion. And who better to start with than the face of the rebellion?"

"The Girl on Fire. Katniss Everdeen."

"Bingo."

"But... I want to see the amber waves of grain back home!"

"I'm not saying you'll never be able to say home again. Inter-district travel has increased by 400 percent in the last 5 years alone! You'll be able to go back there, you just won't live there."

"Oh, OK."

"We have one more surprise for you, but you'll get that tomorrow right before you leave. You'll spend one more night here, and then, tomorrow morning, we'll run some final tests, and then, after you pack up some stuff, you're headed to 12."

"Got it."

Paylor looked at a tablet on her desk.

"Gotta run. Two more just woke up and tests are finished on a third. Do me a favor." Paylor handed Tessa what looked like a plain piece of paper. "Take this and stick it onto a wall in the training gym. It should work. I'll see you tomorrow."

"OK! Bye."

"Bye-bye."

Tessa was escorted by Lunea back to the gym. Sebastian was there, lifting weights.

"Hey," she said.

"Yo."

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"No way! To where?"

"Twelve."

"Why?"

"Long story. Oh, hold on."

Tessa took the piece of paper and stuck it onto a wall. The paper sprung to life. A list was visible. The list read:

Tessa Rae Stalk (74F9) - **Awake**

Sebastian Aronig (74M4) - Awake

Marina Laria (74F4) - Awake

Janaya Randilz (74F6) - Awake - T

Jason Braolin (74M6) - Awake - T

Rue McClellan (74F11) - Coma

Techno Ranil (74M3) - Coma

Penny Robins (74F10) - Coma

Ash Birchwood (74M7) - Coma

Marvel Quarin (74M1) - IP

Clove Arined (74F2) - IP

Gidget Ramon (74F3) - IP

Randall Hazmat (74M5) - IP

Finch Shadow (74F5) - IP

Hazel Acacia (74F7) - IP

Cotton Roberts (74M8) - IP

Savannah Mouron (74F8) - IP

Scythe Brown (74M9) - IP

Ryan Anders (74M10) - IP

Thresh Salinkar (74M11) - IP

Glimmer Lawrence (74F1) - IP

Cato Willow (74M2) - IP

Ariella Drake (73F12) - IP

Roniz Ember (73M12) - IP

Poseidon Salr (73M4) - IP

"Oh, I get it. It shows the status of everyone who is currently involved in the project!" Tessa exclaimed.

"Look!" exclaimed Sebastian. "Marina, Janaya, and Jacob are awake!"

"That means you'll have company when I go."

"I'm gonna miss you a lot."

"You as well."

The two went on to do each of their favorite things. Tessa began to bounce on one of the exercise balls, while Sebastian went back to weights.

Suddenly, a tall, tan girl entered. With her long brown hair and sea-green eyes, it is clear where she is from and who she is.

"Marina!" exclaimed Sebastian, as he ran to give her a hug. He jumped on her, clutching his arms around her neck and legs around her waist.

"It's good to see you, Sebastian," she replied.

Sebastian turned back to Tessa. "This is Marina," he began. "She watched over me before and during the Games. Marina, this is Tessa. She woke up before me and has been really my only friend for a few days."

"Nice to meet you, Tessa."

"You as well."

The three sat and talked for a while, reminiscing and catching up Marina. Marina then caught sight of the list on the wall.

"What's that?"

"We think it's the status of the different people the Capitol is working on, but we're not quite sure how it is structured."

The three watched the list. Suddenly, it changed, to read:

Tessa Rae Stalk (74F9) - **Awake**

Sebastian Aronig (74M4) - Awake

Marina Laria (74F4) - Awake

Janaya Randilz (74F6) - Awake

Jason Braolin (74M6) - Awake

Rue McClellan (74F11) - Coma

Techno Ranil (74M3) - Coma

Penny Robins (74F10) - Coma

Ash Birchwood (74M7) - Coma

Finch Shadow (74F5) - Coma

Marvel Quarin (74M1) - IP

Glimmer Lawrence (74F1) - IP

Gidget Ramon (74F3) - IP

Randall Hazmat (74M5) - IP

Hazel Acacia (74F7) - IP

Cotton Roberts (74M8) - IP

Savannah Mouron (74F8) - IP

Scythe Brown (74M9) - IP

Ryan Anders (74M10) - IP

Thresh Salinkar (74M11) - IP

Clove Arined (74F2) - IP

Cato Willow (74M2) - IP

Ariella Drake (73F12) - IP

Roniz Ember (73M12) - IP

Poseidon Salr (73M4) - IP

"I get how it works!" exclaims Marina.

"How?" both younger kids exclaimed.

"Look. Do you see how that just changed?"

Tessa nodded.

"So, all of the people that they started working with were in order of district. 20 of the people from your Games. Everyone has a code next to their name: their Games, gender, and district. So, Tessa, you're 74F9."

"Go on."

"The initial 20 were listed in order of district. As they upgrade through the stages, their names are moved up to the front. So, the first person to get to the coma stage is listed first, then the second person, then the third person. That continues. When a new person is added to the project, their name goes on the bottom of the list."

"Oh, that makes a lot of sense. You're smart, Marina," Sebastian concluded.

"Yeah. I'm also older," Marina replied, ruffling the much-shorter Sebastian's hair.

The two tributes from 6, Janaya and Jason, came in. Everyone sized each other up.

"Hi, I'm Janaya, and this is Jason," Janaya started. "We're from 6."

"I'm Tessa, from 9, and these are Sebastian and Marina, from 4."

After just a few minutes, the 5 had gotten to know each other pretty well. Janaya and Jason had been filled on on the list, and everyone was sorta keeping an eye on it. Tessa, however, was still feeling somewhat dejected.

"I really wish I could spend longer with you guys," Tessa said.

"What do you mean?" Marnia said.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. To go to District 12."

"That's too bad," said Janaya. "It was so nice to get to know you over the past few hours."

Suddenly, a clock chimed.

"Well, that means we gotta go get ready for bed," explained Tessa. "Come on, guys!"

Everyone headed to the elevator. Janaya went to press the "6" button, but Tessa stopped her. "We're all staying on the first floor together," she said, as she pressed the "1" button. "This way, we're not on our old floor."

Tessa finally got to her room on the first floor. She picked out some pajamas from her dresser, and sunk into her bed, somewhat scared about what the next day would bring.

* * *

Katniss and Peeta were having their nightly before-bed chat. This was done so that each knew about the other's day, and so that they could have some peace and quiet after their kids went to bed.

"How was your day, Peeta?"

"I got a 1,000 cupcake order."

"Oh. You've done that before!"

"Even worse, each cupcake has to have a different combination of flavor, frosting, filling, and topping."

"Oh boy. How are you going to keep track?"

"Probably a spreadsheet. How was your day?"

"Well, you know Paylor's broadcast today?"

"Yep."

"And how she said that she would ask Victors who are still alive, or other figures from the rebellion to help out?"

"Yep."

"Paylor asked me to help."

"How..."

"Well, there are four tributes that can't go back to their families for whatever reason, from our Games, and she's asked us to take them in."

"How old?"

"14, 13, 13, and 12."

"When are they coming?"

"The first one is coming tomorrow, but the others are going to be staggered."

"Well, it'll be good to have extra hands around the house."

"That's what I said!"

"Which one's coming tomorrow?"

"The girl from 9. Her name's Tessa."

"Got it. I can't wait to meet her!"

"Neither can I."

* * *

**So, that's the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, because I loved writing it!**

**Just one little question. There was a segment in there where I focused on Tessa. Would you like to see more of that in this story, or should I make a companion story talking more about Tessa and the other tributes' stories? Please let me know in reviews!**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I can't wait for you to see the next one. Please be patient, though, as I have another OTWT chapter to get through beforehand!**

**-goldie031**


	7. Chapter 5: Welcome!

**Here's the next chapter! I'm really excited about this one. We'll get to meet a few new characters, and see Tessa meet Katniss. Enjoy!**

* * *

Tessa woke up and stretched. She was a bit confused as to why there were three suitcases and a backpack on the floor of her room. Then she remembered: she was leaving for 12.

She got dressed in an amber-colored shirt and black jeans, put her hair half-up, half-down, and added a little bit of blush to make her cheeks pop. She shoved on black ballet flats, and headed into the dining room. Janaya and Jason were already there.

"Hey," Janaya said.

"Yo."

Tessa sat down. She took some eggs and bacon and began to eat.

"You leaving today?"

"Yup."

"You excited?"

"Yes and no. I mean, I'm not going home, but I'm gonna miss you guys!"

"So you're not going back to 9?"

"Yeah, but that's just me. I wouldn't want to go back! I had parents that treated me like a slave."

"Poor you."

"Yeah."

"I hope we can still communicate when I leave."

"Yeah. I really like you!"

"You as well. You seem really nice! Are you and Jason related or something?"

"No. We're family friends. We're both 16, and are practically inseparable. We died at the same time, came back at the same time, and will certainly get married someday!"

"Cool!"

"What's life like in 9?"

"There's a LOT of grain. A lot of it. Almost too much of it! I loved to lay in the grain fields. How about in 6?"

"Six has a lot of factories and whatnot. We develop all of the trains that take us too and from the Capitol. Ironically, I made a few of the parts of the train that took me to my death."

"That's weird."

Marina and Sebastian entered. Tessa ran to Sebastian and gave him a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you," Sebastian said.

"You too. What am I going to do without you?"

The five tributes finished up breakfast and headed down to the old training center to wait. When they got there, Marina went to look at the list.

"Someone else woke up," she reported.

"Who?" asked Jason.

"Penny Robins, 74F10. They've also started on Ella Ryans, 73F10, Enigma Montgomery, 73F3, Geare Boron, 73M6, Jacquie Harvest, 73F9, and Nereid Caro, 73F4."

"Good to know, said Jason.

"What's an enigma?" asked Sebastian innocently.

"A puzzle," replied Janaya.

"Who would name their kid 'Puzzle'?!"

The tributes began to do their daily routine. Sebastian went to swim, Jason lifted weights, Tessa played air hockey with Janaya. The training center had truly been remodeled after the Games, despite the bad memories.

Around 9:30, the girl that could only be Penny Robins came in. She had long, auburn hair in two braids and blue eyes, as well as fair skin and freckles. Wearing a plaid shirt, jean shorts, boots, a cowboy hat, and a wide smile, it was obvious that this was one effervescent cowgirl.

"Howdy, y'all! I'm Penny!"

She spoke with a southern drawl, and it seemed that her energy couldn't be dampened by dousing it with water. Sebastian was impishly tempted to try.

"Hi Penny! I'm Marina, and this is Sebastian, Jason, and Janaya; Tessa over there is just getting ready to leave."

"Well, it's nice to meet y'all!"

Tessa grinned. She was totally used to people like this; one of her friends at home was exactly like Penny.

The six talked for a few moments. Suddenly, President Paylor came in, along with three Peacekeepers. "Tessa, it's a long ride to 12. We're leaving in about 15 minutes. Say your last goodbyes."

Tessa hugged the four she knew, and then said to Penny, "It was nice to get to know you for a few moments. I hope to get to know you again in the future."

President Paylor took something from her pockets. "These are ID cards for each of you. It has your full name, a picture of you from the Games, and your tribute ID number. Marina, if you would explain that to Penny. (She nodded.) Here's Janaya, Jason, Sebastian, Marina, Penny, Tessa."

Paylor led Tessa back to her room to pick up her bags. Once they arrived, Paylor turned to Tessa.

"I have something for you," she said, handing Tessa what seemed to be a grey box. She opened it to reveal a screen and a keyboard.

"This is called a laptop. You can play games, see the list, and chat with the people back here."

"Thanks so much!" Tessa slipped it, as well as her ID card, into her backpack.

"You're welcome. Now, come on."

Paylor snapped her fingers, and the three Peacekeepers each picked up one bag. Tessa grabbed her backpack and slid her ID card into a pocket. She actually had no idea what was in any of her bags.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

The five people went back into the elevator and headed to the roof. A small hovercraft was waiting. They all boarded the hovercraft. Tessa was hooked up to a few machines.

"Final tests," explained Paylor.

The hovercraft took off. Tessa, looking out the window, got her final glimpse of the place that had given her a second chance.

* * *

Katniss finally had a few moments to rest. Kenneth had just gone down for a nap, while Dalia was at preschool. Oh, what a morning! Dalia overslept and made it out the door JUST in time. Now, at 11:45, Katniss sank into a chair, about to nap.

RING!

Katniss groaned, and went to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Katniss, it's Paylor. We'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes."

Shoot. Katniss had totally forgotten.

"Do you have a silencer on that hovercraft?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Kenneth is asleep. I don't want to wake him up."

"Got it. I'll tell the pilot to silence the hovercraft."

"All right. See you soon."

"You too."

Katniss slammed the phone onto the receiver. She ran upstairs and looked at the room where she would be staying. Two bunk-beds had been set up in the room. Katniss made sure that there was nothing in the closet or the dresser, and then headed outside to wait.

To her left, she could see Thom's parents and siblings, Pavi, Ebony, and Ivory, moving in, as well as Hazelle and Posy Hawthorne. Plans were in place to set up a white picket fence around the community, as well as to build a playground for the whole community in the backyard. All of the fences dividing the various backyards and houses had already been removed.

A small hovercraft could be seen, but not heard, coming down. Katniss looked up, and saw it slowly descend. Looking at her outfit, a purple shirt and loose black jeans, she decided that she was presentable, and quickly braided her hair into her trademark braid.

The hovercraft landed. Katniss took a deep breath, and prepared to greet the president.

The ramp lowered and President Paylor walked down the ramp. She shook Katniss's hand.

"Nice to see you, Paylor."

"You too, Everdeen."

"Where's the girl?"

"Finishing up a test. I actually have something for you."

Paylor removed an ID card much like the ones she had given the former tributes back in the Capitol.

"What's this?"

"A tribute ID card. It has your name, tribute picture from the Games, and your tribute ID number. The number of your Games, your gender, District, and then a V, meaning that you're a Victor. Every former tribute will have one. Please give this one to Peeta and this one to Haymitch."

"Of course. By the way, where are the other tributes going?"

"If their family can/wants to take them back, they'll go there. If not, and a victor is alive from they're home district, they'll go there. And if not, we'll figure it out."

"So will that girl from 3 that you told me would go here go to Beetee?"

"Good point. I'll work on that and let you know what'll happen." President Paylor looked into the hovercraft. "Jameson! How's Tessa doing?"

A Peacekeeper poked his head off of the plane. "She's done."

"Lead her and her bags off of the hovercraft, OK?"

Jameson went back onto the plane and came out with a young girl with auburn hair, brown eyes, and freckles. She was short, average weight, and had a smile on her face.

"Tessa?"

"Yes. And you're Katniss."

"Yes."

The two sized each other up. Tessa was a bit intimidated by the much-taller Katniss, and Katniss had no idea how to care for the young Tessa.

"Boys, take Tessa's bags to her room. Where is it?"

"Second floor, first door on your right," replied Katniss. The three Peacekeepers took the bags and headed inside.

"Now, Tessa will be tutored."

"I will?!"

"Yes. Where can she do it?"

"Maybe in our kitchen, and maybe in Prim's house. I'll ask Prim. When does the tutoring start?"

"Next Monday or Tuesday. It depends on when we can get a curriculum set up and when I can converse with her tutor, Ambera, on where she is. I'll let you know."

"Got it."

The three Peacekeepers returned. "Gotta, go, Katniss. Good luck!"

"See you soon."

Tessa and Katniss looked at each other. "Come on in," Katniss said, and the two entered the house.

"Wow, this is so big!" exclaimed Tessa. "It's really nice. I've never seen the inside of any of the houses in Victor's Village."

"Well, this might be a bit different than the houses in 9. I've heard from Annie Cresta - she's the Victor of the 70th Hunger Games from 4 - that the houses there are in a blue and green color scheme."

"Aha."

"So, let me show you around. You have the dining room there, the kitchen there, with an island - if you'd like, you can sit at the island and talk while I make dinner. The living room is over here, with the TV, and my kids, Dalia, 5, and Kenneth, 2, have a playroom in the back. There's a computer in there."

"Cool."

"Now, come on upstairs. Over to your left is the nursery for these growing babies," Katniss said, patting your stomach.

"You're pregnant?"

"Yup. With triplets!"

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you. So, they'll sleep here, and you may be able to design the nursery with Peeta. Your room is to the right. We haven't exactly designed it yet; we want ideas from you! Any other girls who come will certainly sleep with you in there. To the left of the nursery is Dalia's room, and Ken's room is next to yours. To keep it straight: Ken' room has the blue door and Dalia's has the pink door."

Tessa nodded.

"Now, when I give birth, I'll expect you to help me wake up the kids in the morning. I'll teach you how to wake Dalia up, but once I'm on bed rest, it's all on you. The bathroom is straight ahead of where we are now. There's a hallway that extends from there; Peeta and my room is to the left, and the guest room is to the right. Now, let's unpack!"

The two went into Tessa's room. Tessa put her bag onto one of the bottom bunks, and opened the first bag.

"Dresses," said Katniss, looking in the bag. Suddenly, she remembered something that had completely slipped her mind. "SHOOT!"

"What?"

"My sister, Jazmyne - we call her Jazzy - is getting married on Sunday. Since you're here, you should go, and that means that you need a dress! Let's unpack, and then we'll look at your things. If we can't find anything, we'll just have to go shopping. Did you bring any money?"

"I'm not sure. Let me look in my backpack."

Tessa opened her backpack and found a pouch with a good amount of money in it.

"I've got money."

Half an hour later, Tessa was totally unpacked. She had about 10 dresses hanging in a closet; Katniss had managed to fit all of her clothes into half a dresser.

"OK, let's look at the dresses."

The two turned to face the closet.

"Any ideas?" said Katniss.

"No."

Katniss pulled out three dresses. The first was a tank-top eyelet white dress with an amber-colored bow. The second was a one-shoulder lavender tulle dress with bunches of purple, yellow-centered flowers on the shoulder and a ruffled bottom. The third was a mint green dress with a darker green abstract rose pattern on the bottom left looking at it. The dress had tank-top sleeves.

"I'm thinking the lavender one. I've heard it's really pretty with this your hair. Did you bring any accessories?"

"Yeah. Here's the big box from my backpack."

Tessa took a large red box out of her purple backpack and put it on her bed. The two opened it to find hair accessories, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

"How about you wear that silver heart necklace, the matching earrings, and that simple silver watch?"

"That sounds nice. You're really good at accessorizing."

"Jazzy taught me."

The two went back downstairs. Tessa sat at the island, and Katniss got her a glass of water.

"My sister, Prim, and her husband, Rory are coming for dinner, as are Cinny, my sister-in-law, her husband, Thom, and their kids, Hannah and Max, 5-year-old twins."

"Cool!"

"I'm sure they can't wait to meet you."

"What's your family like?"

"Well, Peeta bakes. He may be a bit late, because he has a huge order. 1,000 cupcakes. Each with a different flavor, filling, topping, and frosting."

"Oh boy."

"Dalia is my five-year-old baby. She has light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. She's optimistic and quiet. I'm going to ask you to help me with her when I get put on bed rest."

"All right. What about Kenneth?"

"Oh, I should go check on him. Hold on a second."

Katniss ran upstairs and came down a few minutes later with Kenneth. She sat him in a booster seat next to Tessa.

"Kenneth, this is Tessa. She's going to stay with us for a few days. Can you say hi?"

"Hi," Kenneth said in a little voice.

"Hi there, little guy!" Tessa said, and tickled Ken's feet. He giggled.

"Prim is an angel. She's the person that I volunteered for to get into the Games, and her and Rue, the girl from 11, were practically identical. Of course, Prim is now 28 and pregnant..."

"So who's her husband?"

"Rory is the brother of my old friend, Gale. I sort of lost touch with him after the bombs that he made nearly killed Prim."

"Oh."

"Rory's brother, Vick, is marrying Jazzy, and their sister, Posy, is marrying Thom's brother, Pavi."

"That's cool!"

"Actually, we decided that everyone would live in Victor's Village so that we can be one big family. We'll probably use one of the empty houses for more of you guys when you get here for tutoring and living and stuff."

"Cool! It'll be fun to get to know everyone. Are there any other kids my age?"

"No. But other kids should be coming soon from the Capitol."

"Cool."

Katniss bustled around the kitchen and started to make dinner until the clock hit 2:50.

"Dalia will be home in 10 minutes. We wait outside for her to walk home."

"OK."

"Mommy will be right back, OK, Kenneth?"

The boy nodded.

Katniss and Tessa went onto the porch. Cinny, two doors down, also waiting on her porch, went over to Katniss.

"Who's this?"

"Her name is Tessa. She was the female tribute from my district in Peeta and my Hunger Games. Did you see the broadcast last night?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this is a part of that. She is the tribute they were talking about."

"Oh! Well, Tessa, I'm Cinny, and welcome to our little community."

"Thank you," Tessa said eloquently. "I'm glad to be here."

Suddenly, at exactly 3, a stampede could be heard. "Are those the kids," asked Tessa.

"Yep."

Four kids separated from the rest, running toward their houses. Dalia's wavy, light brown hair was a minor contrast to the black hair of Hannah and Max. While Hannah hand long, straight, organized, black hair, Max's black hair was curly and unruly. The last girl, bright-haired Finch, was also with them.

"Hi, Mommy!" chimed the kids. Dalia wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

Suddenly, Dalia noticed Tessa.

"Who's that?"

"This is Tessa. She will be staying with us for any time between a few days and a few years. She'll be like a big sister," explained Katniss.

"Oh. Hi, I'm Dalia!"

"Hey, Dalia. I'm Tessa. Are these your cousins?"

"Yeah, Hannah and Max. Hannah's the girl and Max is the boy. And Finch is here for a playdate."

Tessa and Katniss exchanged a glance. By the time they looked back down, the kids were already in the backyard.

"Finch is actually the niece of the girl from 5 from our games."

"Ah."

"So, we have about three hours till dinner. Why don't you go upstairs and do whatever you want and I'll call you when everyone gets here."

"OK," Tessa said, and ran up to her room.

Tessa opened up her laptop and pressed a button that said "on". The words, "Welcome, Tessa," appeared on the screen, and then it took her to a main page with a bunch icons and Panem's seal in the background. She clicked on the icon that looked like a video camera, and found a bunch of names. She clicked on Sebastian's name, and a window with an icon that looked like a phone popped up and ringing could be heard as well. Suddenly, Sebastian's face popped up.

"Hey, Tessa!"

"Hi, Sebastian! How can you see me?"

"I don't exactly know. But this is pretty cool!"

"What's going on over there?"

"Tutoring break. We started late, so we're going a bit late today. You?"

"I don't have tutoring yet, but I know that I'll have a tutor later on. What else is new?"

"Can you access the list?"

"Let me look."

Tessa hit a button that, miraculously, it seemed, made Sebastian's image smaller. She clicked on another picture that looked like a piece of paper. It was the list.

"What about the list?" she asked, turning back to Sebastian.

"Look at Glimmer's name."

"It says Coma. Oh."

"We're all a little nervous."

The two talked for about half an hour, until Sebastian said, "Gotta go. My tutor wants to continue."

"All right. Do you want to talk again tomorrow?"

"Sure. Bye-bye!"

"Bye."

Sebastian's picture disappeared.

Tessa spent some time looking around the laptop and played a few games. At about 5, she went downstairs to see Katniss and Cinny cooking in the kitchen.

"Hey, Tessa," Katniss said. "Take a seat."

Tessa hopped onto a stool and was given a mug with a dark liquid in it. "Hot chocolate!" exclaimed Tessa. "I loved this when I went to the Capitol."

"I did too. My kids get this on weekends, normally, but I thought I'd give you something special."

"Thank you!"

Tessa sipped the chocolate, and felt herself warm up. She smiled.

"Where's Kenneth?"

"Playing with the other kids outside."

"MOMMY!"

Kenneth came in wearing a pink poofy ballgown, lipstick, pink eye shadow, and low heels. His naturally curly hair was pinned up.

"Look what Dalia did to me!"

Katniss began to laugh. She turned to Tessa.

"Parenting lesson 1. If your kids ever look very funny or cute, take a picture and tell them that it's for a memory."

Katniss ran to grab a camera and photographed her son. Then, she led him outside.

"Dalia, what did you do to your brother?"

"He was annoying us."

"That doesn't give you the right to dress him up. Please apologize."

"Sorry, Kenneth."

"OK. Come on, honey."

Katniss took Kenneth back inside and washed him up. She then sent him back outside and returned to cooking. Cinny was standing there, laughing.

"Don't tell me Hannah's never done that to Max."

"Oh, she has. But it's more fun to see other kids."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Tessa giggled.

"Your kids will do the same thing someday."

"I know, but it's still funny."

At six o'clock, Peeta came home.

"Hi honey," he said, and kissed Katniss. "How was your day?"

Katniss showed him the picture. Peeta giggled.

"That good, huh."

Peeta then went over and gave Cinny a kiss on the cheek. He then turned to Tessa.

"You must be Tessa. I'm Peeta, Katniss's husband."

"Yes. It's nice to meet you!"

"You too."

They shook hands.

"I brought something to welcome you," Peeta said, revealing a cupcake from behind his back. "I accidentally made five extra cupcakes. One for you, and one for each kid."

"Thank you!" Tessa said. "I can't wait to try it."

Katniss took the other four cupcakes and put them on the counter. "Do me a favor and have your cupcake after dinner, OK, Tessa?"

She nodded.

* * *

Dinner was nice. Everyone was chatting and getting to know Tessa. She truly felt at home. That night was one of the best she'd had in a while.

Soon enough, it was Dalia's bedtime. At Katniss's request, Tessa went up with Dalia to get her into pajamas. After helping the little girl get into pink footie pajamas, brushing her teeth, and braiding her hair, Tessa tucked Dalia onto bed and went to turn out the light.

"What about a story?"

"A story?"

"Yeah. Mama always reads me a story!"

"What story do you want?"

"Ten Little Monkeys!"

"OK," said Tessa, and took Ten Little Monkeys from Tessa's bookshelf. She opened it up and began to read.

"Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Nine little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Eight little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Seven little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!' "

Tessa was getting tired of the book.

"Six little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!' "

Dalia's eyes began to close.

"Four little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Three little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"Two little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!'

"One little monkey jumping on the bed. He fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'No more monkeys jumping on the bed!' "

Dalia was sound asleep.

Tessa left the room and went downstairs. "Dalia's asleep," she reported.

"What did she ask you to read?" asked Katniss.

"Ten Little Monkeys."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"What?"

"She reads that book so often that we all have it memorized. You'll have it happen soon enough."

"Wonderful."

"I think that's all you need to do today. Why don't you go to bed and I'll see you in the morning."

"OK. I just wanted to say that I really feel loved here which I've never really felt before. Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome!" Katniss exclaimed, and she gave Tessa a motherly hug. "I'm so glad you feel that way."

Tessa practically skipped up to her room, got into pajamas, and pulled herself under her covers. Just before she went under, she could feel Katniss give her a kiss.

* * *

**Oh my gosh, I'm sorry that this took me so long! I had it almost ready, and then I got hit with a mountain of homework, and then...**

**I'm sorry.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and, although I'm not sure when the next one will come out, I'll try to get it up soon!**

**-goldie031**


	8. Chapter 6: Mornings

Tessa's eyes fluttered open. The light in her room was on, and Katniss was standing over her.

"Good morning, Tessa."

"Good morning. What time is it?"

"6:45. We need to wake up Dalia."

"Yeah. Let me just get ready and then I'll help you out."

Tessa got out of her nightgown and put on a red shirt and jeans. She brushed out her hair and put it her signature way, half-up, half-down.

"So, Dalia needs to wake up at 7 AM. She spends a good amount of time getting ready, and she needs to be out the door by 8 AM. Usually she gets out earlier so that she can spend time with the other kids in her grade. So, follow me."

Katniss led Tessa out of her room and through Dalia's pink door. Light radiated through her sheer pink curtains, illuminating the young girl, curled up, her hair sprawled out over her pillow and two fingers in her mouth.

Katniss bent down next to Dalia and shook her. Dalia didn't budge.

"Oh, great. Tessa, turn on the light over there."

Tessa found the light switch right next to the door. She flipped it on; as she did so, her eyes darted around, taking in the room.

"This is AMAZING!"

"Peeta did it. If you want, he can help you design your room."

"I might take him up on that offer."

Dalia turned over in her bed. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning, honey. Time to get ready for school."

Dalia sat up. "Good morning."

"What do you want to wear?"

"I dunno."

"Give me an idea. Skirt, dress, pants..."

"I dunno."

Tessa stepped in. "Let me try," she said, as she began to pull out three outfits. The first was a nice yellow blouse, jeans, one pair of socks, and sneakers. The second was a pink sun-dress and sandals. The last, a white skirt, a black polka-dotted skirt, white dress socks, and black patent-leather shoes.

"Pick one," Tessa said to Dalia. Dalia looked the outfits over, and said, "I like the shirt and jeans."

"Great."

Tessa grabbed her a pair of underwear and put away the rest of the outfits, as Dalia changed.

"How'd you do that?" asked Katniss.

"I worked a little bit with kids back home. You have to give them solid options or they won't be able to chose. That, or choose for them."

"Good to know."

Once Dalia was dressed – with some help from Katniss – Tessa and Dalia went downstairs, while Katniss went to go wake up Kenneth. Peeta was standing in the kitchen, making more cheese buns. Dalia and Tessa each sat on a stool, and Peeta put down plates in front of each of them.

"Cheese buns?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Dalia.

"Why not?" said Tessa. "If Dalia says they're good, they probably are."

"Hey, Tessa?"

"Yes, Dalia?"

"Where did you live before you came here?"

"District 9."

"Really?" Dalia's eyes widened. To her, District 9 was almost a foreign land!

"Yeah."

"So, why did you come here?"

Tessa gulped.

"Cheese buns!" Peeta said, sliding a fresh, warm cheese bun onto each plate. As he put Tessa's bun on her plate, she mouthed, "Thank you!"

Dalia inhaled the cheese bun. Almost as soon as it was gone, another one was on her plate. Tessa tentatively bit into it, and her eyes lit up.

"These are really good!"

"Thanks. Family recipe."

After 20 minutes and 8 cheese buns, the girls were done with breakfast. Katniss came downstairs holding Kenneth in her arms. She set him in his highchair and went to greet her husband.

"Good morning, honey."

"Good morning."

Peeta bent down and kissed Katniss's stomach, making all three kids laugh. "What?" said Peeta, addressing his kids. "I did the same thing when both of YOU were in utero. How are the little guys?"

"Great. They haven't agitated me TOO much."

"Good."

"Hi there, little babies! I'm your Daddy, and I love you very much."

Kenneth exclaimed, "Do you love me, too?"

"Of course."

Tessa smiled.

"Once Dalia finishes her breakfast, " said Katniss, "I usually brush her hair." She sat down in a chair in the living room. Dalia grabbed a smaller chair and sat down in front of her mother.

"Two braids?"

"Yup!"

Katniss brushed through Dalia's hair and put it up in two braids.

"Your hair was easy today."

"Great!"

"Go and brush your teeth."

Dalia scampered off to the bathroom

"Now, at this point, I get her lunch together. They CAN buy lunch, but I prefer her to bring for now, because I don't trust her not to lose her lunch money."

Tessa nodded. Katniss took Dalia's pink lunchbox and put in a sandwich, an apple, carrots, a cookie, and some water.

"All of her food is normally in the fridge, except for the cookie. That's kept in that cabinet over there in pre-prepared baggies. They're all baked by Peeta."

"Backpack?"

"It's usually on that couch in the living room. Make sure that she has it. Then, go through the checklist with her. Her teacher, Mrs. Anderson, makes one every day for the next morning, and it's usually in the purple folder in Dalia's bag."

"OK."

Dalia skipped over to her mom. The three went into the living room.

"Checklist time!"

"All right. Do you have your lunchbox?"

"There."

"Marble notebook?"

Dalia opened her bag and examined it. "Check!"

"Your purple folder."

"You have that, silly Mommy!"

"Right. Do you have your art supplies?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Do you have your math homework?"

"Yes."

"How about your reading homework?"

"Uh-huh."

"OK, that's it."

"Now what?" asked Tessa.

"Now, we say good-bye to Dalia and she goes to the meeting point."

Katniss bent down to let Dalia fling her arms around her neck. "I love you, honey."

"You too, Mommy!"

Peeta came into the living room, lifted his daughter up, and spun her around. "I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Peeta put Dalia down. She turned to Tessa.

"Are you going to school?"

"No. I'm going to have a tutor."

"Oh. What's a tutor?"

"It's someone who comes to out house to teach just me."

"Oh."

Dalia gave Tessa a hug, shocking her.

"Have a great day!" said Tessa. Dalia put on her backpack, grabbed her lunchbox, and skipped out the door."

"Now, I usually wait on the porch for her," Katniss explained. "Let me show you what goes on."

The two went onto the porch. About 160 kids at the meeting point were organizing themselves by grade.

"These kids are in K-3. Up until last week, the 3rd graders went straight to the school, but a huge group of them got lost, so now they have to go with the younger kids. Come January, they'll all walk to the school together without teachers."

Tessa nodded.

"The first day was really chaotic, but they've gotten it down to a controlled chaos. All of the kids line up by grade, two by two, and they walk to the school oldest to youngest. Watch!"

The 3rd Grade assistant clapped three times. All of the third graders began to walk, followed by the 2nd and 1st graders, and the Kindergarteners last. Katniss waved as her daughter disappeared.

"All of the people walking with the kids are assistants in their classrooms. Most are the youngest assistants in each classroom. They walk the kids to and from school every day. Dalia has about 40 in her grade."

"That's a lot!"

"Yeah. Actually, there are 3 elementary schools with kids in Kindergarten to 5th. They merge into two middle schools, from 6th to 8th, and one high school, 9th to 12th. They adopted this system from ancient North America."

"Cool!"

Peeta came out onto the porch.

"She gone?"

"Yeah."

"All right. I gotta go to work. Kenneth wants you."

"OK. I love you."

The two kissed, and Katniss ran into the house.

"Tessa, we can start designing the room tonight, if you'd like," said Peeta.

"I'd love that, but I don't know what the others who are staying with you, if there are any, would want."

"Well, we can start. Maybe, when the others come, they can help out. Let me see what I can design. I'll see you tonight."

Peeta headed down the street. Just as Tessa reentered the house, the phone rang. Katniss, bouncing Kenneth, picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Katniss. It's Payhor."

"Hi, Paylor."

"I have a list of the people who will be staying with you from your Games as well as the prior ones."

"All right."

"Staying with you will be Tessa, Rue, Savannah Mouron, Penny Robins, and Glimmer Lawrence, if she can get through counseling, from your Games, as well as Ella Ryans, Ivory Dreamcoat, and Corey Berina, from the 73rd Games."

"ID?"

"74F9, 74F11, 74F1, 74F8, 74F10, 73F10, 73F8, 73F6"

"Got it. I'll relay the message to Tessa. When will they be here?"

"Hard to tell, but I'll let you know."

"OK."

"Goodbye, Katniss."

"Bye."

Katniss hung up.

"What's the word?" asked Tessa, as she played with Kenneth, who Tessa had put down.

"Total tributes staying with us at this point is eight. You, obviously, Penny, Glimmer, Rue, and Savannah, from your Games, as well as Corey, Ivory, and Ella, from the 73rd Games."

"Glimmer?"

"I know. Paylor says she has to go through counseling, but still."

Katniss went upstairs to her room. Tessa and Ken played for a while, until Katniss came down in hunting gear.

"I wanna go!" exclaimed Ken, seeing his mother in hunting gear.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I wanna be with the trees."

"OK. Let me dress you, and then we'll go."

Katniss took Kenneth upstairs. Tessa followed, going into her room and turning on her laptop. Only Penny was online. Tessa clicked her name, and Penny popped up.

"Hi, Penny."

"Howdy, partner!"

"What's new?"

"Nothing, really. It's a bit boring, actually. My tutor hasn't arrived, yet, so I have nothing to do"

"Same, except I am actually being tutored. I'm just on break now. Where are you staying?"

"Katniss Everdeen. She has two really nice kids, 5-year-old Dalia and 2-year-old Kenneth. You're actually gonna come here, too!"

"Cool! I'm excited to come."

The two talked for a while longer, until Penny said, "Gotta go. Tutoring is starting back up again!"

"Oh. Have fun!"

"I will."

Penny signed off.

Tessa collapsed on her bed. What to do now?

* * *

One Hour Previously, Capitol

In the Capitol labs, twenty-four beds, one for each tribute in a given Games, were filled. All of the doctors were around one bed, F11. Young Rue was showing signs of reawakening. Doctors were leaning over her. Rue's heart rate picked up.

Her eyes opened.

"Where am I?"asked Rue, blinking.

"Rue, you're in the Capitol."

"What? Where? Did I die?"

"Sort of. We'll explain later. Right now, we need to get you to testing."

Rue tried to get up, but found herself strapped in. One of the doctors wheeled her into a white testing room. Rue was transferred to another bed. As the doctor went out, Rue heard, "Bed ready for 73F11!"

Rue was extremely confused.

A doctor walked in to the room. "Hi, Rue," she asked. "I'm Dr. Ariel. How are you feeling?"

"Confused."

"Good. That's perfectly normal."

"Would you explain to me what's going on?"

"Well, we've been working on a project to eradicate, as much as possible, the Hunger Games, by reawakening the tributes who died. You are a part of that project."

"So I'm alive?"

"Yes."

"And there are no more Hunger Games."

"Yes."

"Oh."

Rue blinked again.

"I'm still confused."

"All in time, Rue. Everything will be explained. Now."

Three hours later, Rue had been poked and prodded more than ever before. She had done so many tests, but at least she could walk and talk. Dr. Ariel then led her to what was the training gym.

"Right now, we're going to the old training center, which we've made a few modifications to it for the former tributes to stay in," said the doctor, as the two walked. "A few things before you go in.

"First of all, I have a few things for you. This is called a laptop. You can video-chat with other tributes, see the list of tributes we are working on, and play games. This card is your tribute ID card. Your ID number, 74F11, is the number of your Games, your gender, and your age. Always keep it with you."

Rue nodded, and took the laptop and her card.

"Second, there are already a few tributes awake. Both from Four, both from Six, and Penny from Ten, all from your Games. They're all really open and inviting, and I'm sure you'll fit right in.

"I'm your personal doctor. If you need anything, let me know. You'll also have a private tutor. The others are probably with their tutors now.

"Eventually, you'll go back to the Districts. You personally with go to Twelve and travel back & forth between Eleven and Twelve."

"Will I stay with anyone in particular?"

"You'll go to Katniss Everdeen's house. A few other tributes will stay there as well, including Penny."

"All right."

"I think that's about it. I have to go, but you can go on in."

"Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome."

Rue pushed open the doors. She looked back, but Dr. Ariel was gone.

Rue took a few steps into the gym. Her footsteps echoed across it. She could barely believe that a place that was so scary was now so welcoming.

A bell rang. Five doors along the eastern wall of the old training gym opened, and the five tributes alive.

Penny was the first to spot the small figure in the center of the floor. "Hey, guys! Someone else woke up!" she exclaimed. All five ran over to Rue.

"Hi! I'm Penny, and this is Marina, Sebastian, Jason, and Janaya. What's your name?"

Rue was a bit overwhelmed, but she felt the warmth of the other tributes.

"Hi! I'm Rue."

* * *

**Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry that this took me so long! I've had a lot of homework lately, and things just got busy. Anyway.**

**I've got a new story up! This story is called The Capitol Games. It's an SYOT, and it's a prequel to a story that will become the sequel to this story. It is not necessary to read that story to understand this one, or vice versa, but I would advise reading it, because there are some things that are in that story that will explain things in this story. Now, I certainly need tributes. Therefore, if you would like to submit, please read the story! Thanks!**

**I hope you liked this chapter! I was originally planning to "introduce" Rue later, but I needed something to happen. And I can assure you, things are going to happen very soon! **

**Again, I'm sorry that this took so long. Keep your eyes out for a new chapter!**

**-goldie031**


	9. Chapter 7: New Friends and Old Faces

**Well, here's another chapter! I like this one a lot. It's focused on the tributes in the Capitol, and you'll get to meet four new characters! I did skip a few days in the story, so just refer to the diary entry for reference. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_September 24th_

_Dear Diary,_

_I can't believe I woke up three days ago. In fact, I can't believe I woke up at all! When I went into those Games, I really thought I was dead._

_It's 9:00 in the morning now. I'm really bored, because I STILL don't have a tutor, but I'm sure one will come soon. Maybe they're just trying to find a good tutor for a little kid like me._

_Since I woke up, I've gotten to know a lot of really nice people. Janaya is super-sweet, and I really like her._

_Two days ago, two more people woke up: Techno Ranil from 3, who's 15, and Hazel Acacia from 7, who's 17. Techno is very book-smart, while Hazel is motherly and caring. She's taken me under her wing. I really appreciate it. Techno woke up right from a coma, but Hazel didn't even go into one! Well, if she did, it was overnight, because when I went to sleep, she was IP, but when I woke up, she was in testing. But then again, I woke up at 9:00 two days ago, so..._

"Hey, Rue."

"Hi, Hazel. You don't have a tutor yet, either?"

"No, but I heard Paylor say that they're getting tutors for us tomorrow. And I also heard that we're having a group lesson on Monday. Do you want to go play a game?"

"Let me finish my diary entry."

_The other day, a girl named Tessa video-chatted Janaya. According to her, I'll eventually leave the Capitol and go to where she's staying – Katniss's house! I'm really excited about that, because Katniss was my ally in the Games. She really was like Hazel is to me now – a mother figure. She just never told me why._

_I remember my diary back at home. I wonder what happened to it. I left it right on my bed before I left for the reaping..._

_I also have a laptop. Apparently there are games on it, but I haven't found them yet. I can also access that list thingy from it, but otherwise, I have very little use for it at this moment. I think I'll have more use for it when someone who's already here moves out._

_Speaking of the list, it can be a bit confusing. It really did look like gibberish until Penny and Marina explained it to me. Now I get it!_

_I gotta go now. Hazel and I are gonna play a game together. It'll be fun! I'm sure I'll write again soon._

_Rue_

Rue closed her diary. She looked it over; it had a nice leather cover, pretty pages, and a bookmark with her name embroidered on it. She loved it.

Rue put it down on the couch, skipped over to Hazel, and looked up. Hazel was 5 foot 8. Rue was 4 foot 7.

"What do you want to play, Rue?"

"Sorry!"

"OK."

Twenty minutes later, Rue had already won 3 games.

"You're good!"

PING!

Rue and Hazel exchanged a glance, and ran to the list on the wall.

"What does it say?" asked Rue. She was unfortunately too short to see it. Hazel scanned the list.

"Oh, boy."

"What?"

"Glimmer woke up."

"Is she in testing?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she probably won't come in here if she's not sane. Keep that in mind."

"I guess that's true."

"You seem skeptical."

"I'm just scared."

* * *

A bell rang, signifying lunchtime. The five doors opened, and Penny, Janaya, Jason, Marina, and Sebastian came out. Techno had been in his room all morning, but now joined the rest of the tributes at the lunch table.

"What did you do all morning, Rue?" asked Penny, as a server came in with plates of food for each tribute. The tributes were being portion-controlled.

"Well, I beat Hazel at Sorry."

"She creamed me! I lost 3 straight games!"

Marnia giggled under her breath.

"Also," said Rue, "Glimmer woke up."

A sharp intake of breath could be heard around the table.

"Guys, don't worry!" exclaimed Hazel. "They wouldn't let her in here if she proved to be dangerous to any of us. Paylor is smart enough to know that."

The conversation turned to funny stories. Rue told about the time that she jumped out of a tree and accidentally landed right in a huge vat of strawberries. Sebastian told about the time he was trying to go cod-fishing and flipped his boat over.

After a pleasant lunch, a bell rang. The five with tutors got up from the table.

"We'll see you two in about three and a half hours," said Penny.

"I wouldn't be surprised if someone else is here by then," replied Rue.

The tutored tributes went back to work.

"What are you doing, Techno?"

"Finishing a 900-page book on protons, neutrons, and electrons. It's actually very interesting."

"Oh. Have fun!"

Rue and Hazel looked at each other.

"More Sorry?"

* * *

An hour later, Rue had beaten Hazel for the eighth time in Sorry. Suddenly, the door swung open and Glimmer entered.

Rue instinctively jumped behind Hazel. The two older girls eyed each other.

Glimmer broke down in tears.

Hazel's motherly instinct kicked in. Even though this girl had tried to kill her, she couldn't bear to see her sobbing. Hazel ran to Glimmer, crouched beside her, and murmured a few words. Rue stayed back, away from the scary Career, but Hazel motioned her over.

"It's OK. She's sorry."

The three went to the couch where, just that morning, Rue had sat, writing in her diary.

"I'm really sorry, Rue. I didn't want to come across the way I did. I didn't even really want to enter the Games."

"But if you didn't want to, how did you end up in them?"

"Well, that's a long story."

Rue glanced at the clock.

"We've still got about two and a half hours till everyone else is done," said Rue. "We've got PLENTY of time."

"All right," said Glimmer. "Here goes.

"Well, my father was greedy, abusive, and a drunk. My mom was sickly and weak. So, while my mother wanted to care for us, she couldn't really, and that left me and my sisters in the hands of my father."

"That sounds sort of stereotypical," said Hazel.

"Yeah. I know. I have the most stereotypical life in the world. And the stereotype is intensified when you find out that my older sister won the Games and my other sister died in them."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So, when my oldest sister, Gemma, won the Games, my dad got even greedier. When they say that you get a lot of money, they're completely right. You get a fortune. He pushed my other sister, Grace, to enter the Games. But her heart wasn't in it. She was a nature girl; almost every day she was out with the trees. Dad pushed her harder and harder and harder, until she broke, volunteered at age 17, and died."

"Was she trained?"

"Yeah, and she was good, otherwise, trust me, she wouldn't have been able to volunteer. The problem is that the Careers from Two can smell fear. And Grace was scared. So they killed her in her sleep on the first night."

"Ouch. How old were you?"

"Well, Grace was five years older than me and Gemma was four years older than Grace. When Gemma won, she was 17, Grace was 13, and I was 8."

"Were you training?"

"Yeah! My dad forced us to train because he was so greedy. I was in the Academy at age 5!"

"OK. Go on."

"Gemma really did care for her sisters. But, she had to do all the stuff that goes with being a Victor, and couldn't really care for me. So I was left at the mercy of my father. He forced me to volunteer at age 15, and, well..."

"So, you had to pretend to be fierce, or the Careers would have killed you like they killed Grace."

"Exactly, said Glimmer.

Everything was coming together in Hazel's mind.

"Did you want to avenge your sister?"

"Sort of, but that would have ended badly. Backstabbing among the Careers is sort of frowned upon in 1."

"Who did you think would win?"

"Cato or Clove. Marina was too nice and Marvel was an idiot."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He basically did whatever you told him to do. He was quite dumb. Marina had a very similar mindset to me, so we got along well, so Cato and Clove were the best bets. They're monsters!"

"Were you more like Gemma, or Grace?" asked Rue.

"I was a mix of both. While all three of us were well-trained, Grace didn't really have her heart in it, while Gemma did. I loved the training, but I wanted to use it for self-defense, not fighting."

"So Gemma wanted to go in, Grace didn't, and you were in between?"

"Yeah."

"Boy, your life really is one big stereotype."

"Yeah. Who else is awake?"

"Both from 4, both from 6, the boy from 3, and the girl from 10. And us."

"Oh."

"What?"

"I killed the girl form 6."

"Oh. She's gonna be scared of you."

"I know."

Glimmer took a deep breath. She almost started crying again, but Hazel rubbed her back. Glimmer smiled, something she hadn't done in a long time.

"Glimmer?" asked Rue innocently. "Will you play a game with me?"

Glimmer looked at Rue. She had always wanted a younger sister, and adorable little Rue fit the part. The first time Glimmer had seen the other tributes, she'd immediately wanted to protect Rue, but she couldn't, or her cover would be blown.

"Sure, Rue."

Hazel laughed.

"What?"

An hour later, Rue had won another 8 games of Sorry.

"How is she so good, Hazel?"

"I don't know, Glimmer. Hey, Rue. Are you ever going to get tired of this game"

"No!"

The other two sighed.

Marina's door opened.

"You're out early," said Hazel.

"Yeah. My tutor had something to take care of, so I got let out early."

Marina turned to Glimmer and Rue.

"I win again!"

"Hi, Marina."

"Hi Glimmer."

Glimmer stood up and gave Marina an awkward embrace.

"You coping OK?"

"Yeah, but I'm nervous."

"I'll help you out," said Marina. "Don't worry."

The laptop in Marina's hands suddenly pinged. Marina opened it up.

"It's Tessa!" she exclaimed

"I didn't know someone else was awake!" said Glimmer

"I forgot about her since she's living in the Districts."

"What district is she from?"

"Nine."

"Shoot."

"What?"

"I killed her too."

"Oh."

Marina opened up the laptop.

"Hey, Tessa!"

"Hey. I heard Glimmer woke up."

"Yeah."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Sure."

Marina gave Glimmer her laptop. Tessa eyed Glimmer. Glimmer eyed Tessa.

"I'm really sorry about killing you."

"Are you really, really sorry?"

"They made me go through a test. If I hadn't been sorry, I probably wouldn't be with everyone else."

"True. That's what Katniss said. All right. I forgive you."

"Hi, Tessa!" exclaimed Rue.

"Hey there, Rue! What's new?"

"Not much. Can I see the dress you're wearing for the wedding?"

"Sure!"

Tessa ran out of the picture, but soon came back with a beautiful lavender dress.

"I think it's so pretty!"

"You'll get sent back here with plenty of dresses like this. I love it, too."

"Did you get your diary yet?" asked Marina.

"Yeah. It just came in the mail today."

"Cool!"

* * *

An hour or so later, Marina, Hazel, Tessa, Glimmer, and Rue had had a nice chat in between Rue beating Marina, Hazel, and Glimmer in Sorry 40 times.

Another bell rang.

"Finally, we're done!" exclaimed Janaya, as she came out of her tutoring room. The rest of the awoken tributes followed.

Sebastian spotted Glimmer.

Twenty minutes later, Glimmer had told her whole story again after another round of tears. Everyone had finally accepted her. Glimmer was happy.

Therefore, nobody noticed that Finch Shadow had entered the room and had heard everything.

"What are you looking at?"

Everyone looked at her.

"When did you wake up?"

"About three hours ago."

"You do a really good job of staying under the radar," said Rue.

"That's my best asset!"

The tributes talked and talked. It amazed Glimmer that they were all actually becoming friends.

* * *

**So, how'd you like it! The chapter is, admittedly, a bit choppy and short, but I think it did what I wanted it to do.**

**Anyways, the diaries are going to be extremely useful, as they'll allow me to skip back and forth between the days. Just look at the diary entries if there is one and that'll tell you the date. Otherwise, assume that the date is that day or the next day.**

**I still need a LOT of tributes for my SYOT. Help is appreciated.**

**See you all next chapter!**

**-goldie031**


	10. Chapter 8: I Do

**OK, this is one of my favorite chapters. You'll get to "see" all of our characters dressed up! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"NO!"

"Come on, Kenneth. You have to put your suit on."

"NO!"

"But you'll look so cute!"

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!"

Peeta sighed. He took the suit and walked out of Kenneth's room.

"Katniss!"

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

Katniss carefully opened Dalia's door. "I'll be right back, honey."

"Got it, Mommy!"

Katniss came out and closed the door. "What's the problem?"

"Kenneth won't get into his suit."

"All right. Go and get Dalia into her dress and DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE."

"Got it."

Peeta went into Dalia's room.

"All right, baby girl. Let's get you into your pretty dress."

"OK. Where's Mom?"

"She's trying to get you're brother into his suit."

"Oh."

Peeta opened Dalia's closet and took out a light pink silk dress. The skirt had about 5 layers of tulle over the silk. Around Dalia's waist was a thick black ribbon around the middle tied in a bow, and the dress had tank-top sleeves.

"I love my dress, Daddy! It's PINK!"

"I know, darling."

Peeta helped his daughter into her dress and zipped her up. She turned her head to look back at him, and smiled.

"Let me go and check on your brother.

Peeta went back into Kenneth's room. Somehow, Katniss had gotten him into his suit and dress shoes.

"How'd you do that?" exclaimed Peeta.

"A mother's magic."

Katniss went back into Dalia's room. Dalia was sitting on her bed, contentedly reading a book. She'd learned to read the previous year.

"We still need to do your hair and get your shoes on, right, Dalia?"

"Yeah."

Katniss grabbed Dalia's spare brush from her dresser and began to brushed Dalia's hair. Once it was fully brushed, Katniss took a light pink headband that matched Dalia's dress and expertly put it in the young guirl's hair. Then, she took a new pair of black patent-leather shoes from Dalia's closet; they had an inch-high heel.

"Good job, honey! Did Daddy put your tights on?"

"No."

Katniss helped Dalia into a pair of tan stockings. Then, they worked together to put on her shoes.

"I think you're ready."

"Yay!"

"You go downstairs and read a book. I need to go check on Tessa."

Katniss went over to Tessa's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Katniss."

"Come in."

Katniss entered Tessa's very white room. Tessa was trying to zip her dress, but she looked like a puppy dog chasing her tail.

"Let me help you, Tessa." Katniss stepped behind Tessa and zipped her dress up.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Let me do your hair. Did you brush it?"

"Yeah."

Katniss sat on Tessa's bed, and Tessa sat on the floor in front of it. With her lavender tulle skirt spread around her, she looked beautiful.

Katniss's nimble fingers took a little section of hair from each side of Tessa's head. She began to braid each section, and then fastened the two small braids together with an elastic. The braids formed a crown of sorts; one was tight against one side of Tessa's head and one tight against the other side.

"Great. You're done."

"Thank you so much, Katniss," Tessa said, as she stood up.

"No problem. Do you need any help with your necklace?"

"Yeah."

Tessa took out her necklace from her jewelry box. She gave it to Katniss to put it on.

"How did you get your ears pierced?" asked Katniss. "Nobody here has them pierced."

"It's a tradition in District 9."

"Tell me about it," said Katniss, as she fastened the necklace.

"Well, in District 9, you begin to work when you turn 10. Girls get the ear corresponding to their strong hand pierced to signify their entrance into the working community of District 9. Everyone 10 and up goes to school from 7:30 AM until 2 PM. When you turn 18, your second ear is pierced."

"What about the boys?"

"Well, I don't actually know. Girls aren't allowed at the boys' ceremonies and the boys aren't allowed at the girls' ceremonies."

"There's a whole ceremony?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"What happens if two people's birthdays fall on the same day?"

"Well, the ceremony takes place after 2 PM, so most of the time, there's a chance to be able to work with multiple in a day. They make it work. Plus, twins have their ceremony at the same time anyway. That prevents a problem."

"Cool."

At that time, Tessa had gotten all of her accessories – her necklace, earrings, and watch – on.

"What are you wearing, Katniss?"

Katniss sighed. "First, you should know that I really hate wearing dresses."

The two went into Katniss and Peeta's room. Katniss went into her closet and took out a hot pink, floor-length, strapless, satin dress.

"Wow."

"Yeah. Jazmyne really likes pink, so her bridesmaids are all wearing this. The groomsmen are all wearing black suits with pink ties, and they'll all have a carnation in that pocket thing. I think it's called a lapel."

"Can I see what Dalia and Ken are wearing?"

"They're probably downstairs by now. Can you go and watch them while I get dressed?"

"Sure. Let me just get my shoes first."

Tessa went into her room and retrieved a pair of silver one-and-a-half inch high-heel sandals. She went downstairs and found Dalia and Kenneth calmly playing on the playground.

"Hi, guys! You two look so nice."

"Thank you," said Dalia.

"Can you two stand up so I can see you?"

The two obliged. Dalia was wearing her light pink dress, and Kenneth was wearing a black suit with a hot pink bow tie and cummerbund, as well as shiny dress shoes.

"Very nice suit, Ken. And Dalia, very, very pretty dress."

"Thank you," the two chorused.

"Now, let's play a few games while your parents are getting ready."

After an hour, Katniss and Peeta came downstairs. "Ready to go, guys?"

"Yeah!"

"Come on, then."

The three kids followed the two grown-ups out the door. Katniss lifted up her dress so that it wouldn't drag. They suddenly ran into Prim and Rory. Prim was wearing an identical dress to Katniss;'s, and Rory was wearing an identical suit to Peeta's.

"Hi, guys!" said Prim. "You guys look so cute!"

"Thank you," said Dalia.

"And you look beautiful, Tessa."

"Thanks."

Tessa blushed.

"Hey, Rory," said Katniss. "Is Gale coming in for the wedding?"

"Yeah. He's bringing his wife, Marigold, and daughter, Daisy."

"When did he get married to her, again?"

"After Daisy was born. I don't quite remember."

"Come on!" said Dalia. "I wanna see Aunt Jazzy!"

The group headed to the church. Once they got there, they all went into a back room, where the wedding party was assembling.

Tessa sat down in a white wooden folding chair. She felt a little bit out of place, and wanted to get out of the way.

Katniss looked around to see who was already there. She saw her mother, who was wearing a women's suit in a color matching Dalia's dress. Hazelle Hawthorne was wearing a similar suit in a slightly deeper shade of pink. Katniss embraced her mother.

"How are you, honey?"

"Great. And the kids are all fine, too."

"Good to hear."

Posy arrived next, in yet another identical pink dress. Dalia ran up to her.

"Hi, Miss Hawthorne!"

"Hi, Dalia. You can call me Posy here."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"That's old!"

"Thank you."

Posy sat next to Tessa.

"Hi, there! You're Tessa, right?"

Tessa nodded.

"I can tell. You're the only person in this room not wearing some shade of pink. How are you liking Twelve so far?"

"It's nice," Tessa said, smiling.

"Katniss is nice to you?"

"Yeah, and her kids are adorable."

Gale, suddenly, came into the room. Katniss stiffened up a little bit, but Gale came over.

"I can't believe we're both parents now, huh?"

"Yeah. Where did time go?"

"What do you say we put the past behind us and renew our friendship?"

"OK."

The two embraced.

Gale went over and gave Posy a hug. He wanted nothing more than to watch out for his little sister.

"I can't believe you're already 20!"

"I know."

Marigold and Daisy came in next. Daisy made a beeline for Dalia. The two had met maybe once, but they had really hit it off.

Marigold came over to Katniss.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Marigold."

"Katniss."

The two began to talk.

Tessa looked at Daisy and Dalia. She turned to Posy.

"Look at Daisy and Dalia."

"What about them?"

"Don't they look too similar? Same light brown, wavy hair. Same blue eyes. Same height!"

"You're right."

"And look at Marigold. Her eyes just seem evil."

Posy looked at Marigold. All of her seemed to be very pleasant: marigold-orange hair, tan skin, green eyes. Tessa seemed to be right. Marigold's eyes did have an evil glint in them.

"You're right, Tessa. Marigold's eyes do have an evil glint."

"I'll do some research about her. Maybe we can figure this out."

Thom came in last. "What are you doing here, Thom?"

"I was Gale's mining crew-mate once. We've remained pretty good friends."

Suddenly, the officiator came in. "The bride and groom are here. Everyone in the wedding party, please line up."

There is a flurry of motion. Tessa observed the wedding party. First were Gale and Marigold. Then came Posy and Thom, and then Katniss and Peeta. Afterwards were Prim and Rory. Following the bridesmaids and groomsmen were Dalia, Kenneth, and Daisy. Mrs. Everdeen waited in the back for her daughter. Four bouquets of pink roses were quickly handed out to the bridesmaids.

Tessa said, "I'll see you at the reception, Katniss."

"All right."

Tessa hurried to the front of the church and was seated next to Thom's family. Ivory was right next to Tessa.

"Hello. You must be Tessa."

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Ivory. And this is Ebony, my twin. We're Thom's sisters."

"Right."

Tessa and Ivory chatted until the sound of organ music could be heard. She turned toward the door and watched.

First, Vick and his mother walked in, arm in arm. Once they reached the front of the alter, they stepped to the right. Hazelle turned around, but Vick did not. "It's a tradition that a groom does not see his bride on their wedding day until they step to the alter," explained Ivoryl

Next, the four pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle. As they reached the front, they all split off; the groomsmen went to the right and the bridesmaids went to the left. Each pair was exactly 12 steps behind the previous one.

Once the last pair, Prim and Rory, had reached the front, another song came from the alter. Tessa didn't recognize it. Ivory could see her confusion and whispered in Tessa's ear, "Here Comes the Bride. It's an ancient song used in weddings that they found recently."

Kenneth walked down the aisle holding a pillow with two golden rings. Daisy and Dalia followed him straying light pink rose petals from a basket.

Sixteen steps behind came Jazmyne.

She looked stunning in a floor-length white silk dress. The skirt had many, many layers of tulle over the silk. The dress was strapless, and it had a 3-foot train. She walked down the aisle slowly and confidently.

Once Kenneth reached the alter, he went to the right, and the girls went to the left. Jazmyne stood in front of the officiator on her left, and Vick stepped up to her right.

The officiator made a short speech. Tessa didn't really pay any attention to it. What she was looking at were the girls. Dalia and Daisy looked like the exact same person in two bodies. They were standing the same way. Tessa was a little freaked out.

"And now," said the officiator, "we join these two people in marriage. Do you, Jazmyne Everdeen, take this man, Vick Hawthorne, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Do you, Vick Hawthorne, take this woman, Jazmyne Everdeen, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do."

"By the power vested in me by the government of Panem and of District Twelve, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The two shared in a passionate kiss.

Tessa smiled.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Next chapter we'll see a little bit of the reception, but it'll probably be a shorter chapter than this one. **

**As you can probably tell, I have also introduced two new characters and a new plot-line. This might be my downfall, but I think that these characters will add a new dynamic to the story.**

**Please review, and submit tributes to The Capitol Games! Thanks!**

**-goldie031**


	11. Chapter 9: A History Lesson

_Monday, September 26th_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is my first day of tutoring! I'm sort of excited, but I'm also annoyed, because I sort of liked the freedom of not having a tutor._

_We're supposed to have tutoring Monday through Friday, but we have tutoring on the weekends sometimes. Picking days is mainly about what's best for the tutor and the pupil._

_I've been told that my tutor's name is Mayzie. I don't know what she's like, but I am a bit nervous. I hope she's nice!_

_I won't meet Mayzie until later, though, because I have a joint lesson with everyone else today. I'm not sure what we're learning, but I heard from Hazel that Tessa told her that we're learning history. Tessa apparently had a tutor here, and she's starting up today with hers, but is also doing history with us through the laptops. _

_I like those laptop thingies. We never had anything like them in 11! I like how I can see people in other places without being with them, and that I can play games, and see the list!_

_Speaking of which, that list is really neat. I like how we can see what's going on with all of the tributes! I want to see when another twelve-year-old like me wakes up. Sebastian is my age, but I'm about three inches shorter and five months younger than him. So I am looked at as the little one. I need someone younger than me!_

RING!

Rue looked up, and groaned. "I don't want to go to class!"

"But Rue," exclaimed Hazel, "just yesterday you said you were bored!"

"Yeah, but I don't want to do school stuff."

_Gotta go, Diary. Class is starting. I'll tell you what happens later._

_-Rue_

Rue put her diary down where she was sitting, on her favorite blue couch where she sat every day to write. Her and the other former tributes all made their way into the large classroom set for all of them. Rue decided to sit in the second row; only Techno was brave enough to sit in the front.

There was a laptop open next to Techno. Tessa's face was visible on the laptop. She was wearing a pink nightgown and her hair was in a braid.

"Hey, Tessa!" exclaimed Rue.

"Hiya, Rue. Are you ready to learn some history?"

"Sort of."

The teacher for the special joint lesson came in. All of the students stood up straight.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Mayzie, and I'll be your teacher for today, as well as your permanent tutor, Rue. Today we are having a special history lesson. We're going to learn about how Panem was really formed."

Rue's ears perked up. Mayzie...

She seemed nice!

"What do you mean?" angrily exclaimed Glimmer. "We've learned about how Panem was formed for years!"

"Yes, but recent evidence has turned up to prove that wrong. We have recently found that our ancestors haven't told the truth about how our nation was formed.

"The last president to be elected as president of the United States of America, the country that stood where Panem is today, ran his country into bankruptcy. The country caved in on itself. Everyone was arguing; nothing was going right. The remaining people decided to form Panem. Afterward, the Dark Days happened, and you all know the rest."

"I don't get it!" exclamed Hazel. "Why would our ancestors lie to us?"

"Because they wanted to cut themselves off."

All of the tributes stared at Mayzie like she had two heads and no legs.

"There are other countries in the world besides Panem. When the Hunger Games started up, the leaders of Panem didn't want any criticism, so they used this story to make the people in the country not think that anything exists out of it. Only the presidents have ever known that other countries exist."

"Smart," said Marina. "So what is there today around us?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, not much has changed since Panem became Panem. The one area where a lot has changed is this area. It is called the Middle East. During the time of the United States of America, the Middle East was always conflicted. Once America fell apart, six of the countries there, namely Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, decided to divide up all of the land and form two countries. The land that was Israel stayed Israel, but they gained Egypt, Lebanon, and northern Syria. The rest of that land became Arabia."

"Why was there so much conflict?" asked Rue timidly.

"Well, there were many different religions back then. Two were Judaism and Christianity. The two religions came from the same base, but when the Jews claimed the land that was originally Israel, the Arabs wanted it. Although, you will learn more about that with your tutors, so I shouldn't go on and on about this. Sebastian."

"What other countries are there?"

"The big four are China, France, Russia, and Great Britian. There are many other countries as well. Again, you'll learn all of this with your tutors. Techno."

"What are we trying to do now with the other countries?"

"Patch up our relations. The new government really regrets the whole Hunger Games thing, and they're trying to convince the new countries that they don't want the Hunger Games to be there. Marina."

"Are there any other countries near us?"

"Yes. We're actually trying to patch up our relations with Canada, the country to our North, first. Rue."

"How do you identify the countries?"

"Each country has a flag. Like our flag, a gold star on a white background surrounded by 13 smaller stars, each star representing one district. Canada's is a red maple leaf – which you should recognize, Hazel – on a white background with a thick red stripe on either side. Again, you'll learn about many of these countries with your individual tutors."

"Isn't what you said is our flag our seal?" asked Jason.

"It is both. Any other questions?"

Finch raised her hand.

"How did you find out about all the other countries if we've been cut off?"

"Well, we were going through some of President Snow's old papers and found some maps of the world. We then talked to one of his children, next in line for the presidency, who confirmed that there are other countries. Janaya."

"How are the other countries ruled?"

"It depends on the country. I can't stress enough that you'll learn more about these countries with your tutors."

The room was finally silent. Nobody had any more questions. Mayzie sighed.

"And so ends the lightning round," she said. Most of the tributes smiled, but Rue was a bit confused. "You guys can now go back to your regular tutors. For those of you who haven't yet met your tutors, "

All of the the tributes but Rue and the laptop left the room.

"Give me a moment, Rue. I have to talk to Tessa."

"I'm right here!" she exclaimed.

"Do you specifically have any questions? I didn't see your hand at all."

"No, I just wanted to listen. Sometimes I understand things better when I take things in."

"All right. Well, I did record the lesson, so I'll send it to Ambera for you. You can always rewatch it if you need. All right?"

"OK. Thanks!"

Mayzie closed the laptop. "Now, Rue, let's get started."

* * *

Katniss headed over to the hosiptal, to see her OB/GYN, aka her mother, again. It was time for another appointment, and she was a bit nervous.

"Hello, Katinss," said the receptionist. "Come with me."

Katniss was led to an exam room. After just a little waiting, her mother came in.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie."

"Did you have fun at the wedding?"

"Yes. And, before you ask, so did the kids."

"I'm glad. What about Tessa?"

"She finally got to know Ebony and Ivory, which is a good thing. Now she has a friend in our community which is good."

"Great! Let's get started."

Katniss's mother rubbed the gel onto her daughter's stomach and used the ultrasound machine again.

"The babies seem to be healthy. Now, onto a more pressing matter."

"What?"

"Do you want to know genders?"

"Why are you asking so early on?"

"Well, with triplets, it can be hard to see all three from the ultrasound. So, there are some special tests that we can run to get the genders. These tests can take weeks to go through, so if you want to know genders, we will want to start with the tests as soon as possible."

"Let me discuss it with Peeta and I'll get back to you the next time I come."

"All right, honey. You look good, the babies are healthy. I can't wait to meet them!"

"How's Prim doing?"

"She's all right. She's due about the same time we told you you're going to have the baby, not necessarily your due date, though."

"Right. Because my due date is two months after you said that the babies would come out."

"All right. That means that Jazzy needs to be on the hook to watch Dalia and Kenneth."

"Yes, because Prim will probably be on bedrest."

"OK. Let me go talk it over."

"Love you."

"You too."

Katniss headed back home. Tessa was sitting at the table with Ambera doing math.

"Now, what you want to do here is find R alone. So you'll cross-multiply like this..."

"Hello, Tessa."

"Hi, Katniss!"

Ambera looked at Katniss. She was a bit nervous. Even though she had previously met the Mockingjay that day, it was still nerve-wracking for her to be in front of her.

"Hello, Mrs. Mellark."

"Hello, Ambera. Have you settled in?"

"Yes."

Ambera was living in the last house in Victor's Villaige. The other tutors would eventually live there as well, but Ambera was the only one at that moment.

"Good. Carry on."

Katniss headed up to her room. She decided to take a bit of time to think.

* * *

After dinner, Dalia and Kenneth went out to play. Katniss, Peeta, bustled around the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner, while Tessa sat at the island with a glass of water.

"Tessa, I have a question. Did your mother know that you were going to be a girl before you were born?"

"No."

"Your brother?"

"No."

"Do you think that affected your life?"

"Well, yes. I think that my parents expecting a boy made them even more shocked to have a girl. And if I'd known that I would have a brother beforehand, I would have known to expect neglect. Why do you ask?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked Peeta.

"Because my mom told me that, if we want to know the genders of our babies, we should get started as soon as possible. There's apparently some sort of tests that we we have to do, because it can be unclear from the ultrasounds since there's three of them. What do you think?"

"Having to decide so early... when do we have to know?"

"Not sure. As soon as possible."

"We need to think about that, then."

"Yes we do."

* * *

**So, what do you think? I'm going to attempt to get one chapter a week up for you guys, so that we can see what's going on.**

**Now, I want to get a sense of what you guys want. Because my poll place is being overtaken by Only Time Will Tell polls, I need your feedback through reviews. Do you want to know the genders, or not? Please let me know.**

**We'll probably be skipping around a lot now, and we will see Katniss go back into the woods again soon! I hope you like the chapter, and I can't wait for you to review! Please?**

**-goldie031**


	12. Chapter 10: A Design

"So, for tomorrow, finish reading chapter 2 and do problems 1-20 in your math textbook, OK?"

Tessa nodded.

"Good work today, Tessa."

"Thanks."

Ambera gathered her tutoring books and headed back to her house.

The minute that Ambera was gone, Tessa pulled out her laptop and signed onto video chat. As planned, Rue, Glimmer, and Penny were all on. Tessa sent a call request to Glimmer.

"Hey, Tessa! Ready to go?"

"Yup."

"Let me invite Rue and Penny in. Hold on a second."

Moments later, Rue and Penny had joined the chat. "OK, guys!" Tessa began. "We need to design the room where we'll be staying at Katniss's house. It needs to be a relatively neutral room, because there are going to be a lot of people staying there after us. Any ideas?"

"Is there a way that we can see the layout of the room?"

"Sure, hang on," said Tessa. She pressed a few keys on the keyboard; a schematic of the room showing where everything was in it, such as the dressers and beds, popped up on everyone's screen. All of the objects, as well as the walls, were shown in white.

"I have an idea!"said Rue. "Let's do something with a rainbow! That would be so cute!"

"I think that's a bit too childish," said Glimmer. "I mean, I like rainbows, but if there are going to be older kids eventually staying in the room, I don't think it's a good idea."

"I think we should do something calming. That would help with the nightmares and all of that stuff."

"Well," asked Tessa, "what's calming?"

"Green is said to be a calming color," said Rue. "But I don't know how we'd work that in."

Something came into Tessa's mind.

"I got it!"

"What?" asked everyone else.

"One time, my father was delivering a shipment of tessarae to District 4, because he was someone who supervised the tessarae production. So, anyway, he took me and my brother with him to District 4. The ocean there is so calming. It's beautiful! The sand crashing against the shore, the clear, clear blue of the sea..."

Tessa fell off into the memory.

"Maybe we could make the floor of the room like sand," suggested Rue, "and then paint the ocean all around it. Like our room is an island in the middle of the ocean."

"That would be pretty," said Glimmer. "I like that idea! Penny?"

"Sounds good," said Penny. "I'm fine with it."

"Great. Then it's settled. Now, what about the beds and night-tables and dressers and that sort of thing?" asked Glimmer.

"I think a light colored wood," said Tessa. "I know nothing about types of wood, so we'll have to trust Peeta's judgment there."

"The color of the wood doesn't really matter," said Glimmer. "Although, it would be cute if we had hammocks instead of beds, to keep with the island theme."

"No. I don't like the idea of having hammocks. I think we should stick to bunk beds, using wood the color of sand. Or, at least, as close to the color of sand as possible," said Tessa.

"Were there palm trees in District 4?" asked Rue, her deep brown eyes wide with curiosity.

"You know, I don't remember that."

"Then how do you know what a palm tree is?" Penny asked skeptically.

"Well, I worked on it with Ambera, my tutor. We were learning about islands in the Caribbean. Apparently there are a lot of palm trees there."

"Ah."

Rue naively popped up. "Can we do something with the ceiling?"

"Probably. Peeta painted the ceiling of Dalia's room like a sky, and her light is the sun. We could do something like that," said Tessa.

"Let's do something like that," said Glimmer. "A sky with the sun. It would be beautiful."

"Peeta must be an amazing artist to be able to do that," Rue gushed.

"Oh, he is, little one. He is."

The girls chatted for about an hour longer, until Tessa said, "Gotta go. I have to help get dinner ready. I'll see you guys later."

Tessa signed off and closed up her laptop. She went downstairs to find Katniss cooking at the stove.

"Perfect. Tessa, put those chicken nuggets into that pan and put them into the oven?"

Tessa nodded. She got right to work.

"Is Dalia home?"

"Yeah, she's playing outside with Daisy. Gale and Marigold are moving into their house and they wanted Daisy out of the way. It's unusual how similar they are."

"I know. I've been thinking about that. They just look and act too similar!"

Tessa made a mental note to look something up later.

"Anyway, we're having Gale, Marigold, and Daisy over for dinner later. Peeta should be home any minute, so he can help with the potatoes and green beans. The brisket is already in."

"The what?"

"Brisket. I found it online. It's some sort of meat thing."

"I'm sure it's good. Where's Kenneth?"

"Playing with Max. I don't trust Dalia and Hannah with him anymore, even with the addition of Daisy."

Suddenly, Peeta entered the house.

"Hey, Peeta!" said Tessa."

"Hi, Tessa. Did you decide on what you want your room to be like?"

"Yeah," said Tessa. The two of them sat down at the island, and Tessa began to describe the design for her room for Peeta.

"All right, I'll get to work on that later," said Peeta when she'd finished. "Now, we're going to have to move you into the nursery temporarily in order for me to be able to paint, so we'll get to work on that tonight, all right?"

"Got it."

The cooking continued. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"GOT IT!" yelled Tessa. She ran to the door and opened it.

"Gale! Marigold! Come on in," Tessa said sweetly.

"Thank you so much for having us," gushed Marigold.

"Oh, the pleasure's all ours."

Tessa was lying through the skin of her teeth.

(line break)

Dinner was a pleasant affair that night. The conversation was animated, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was calm and comfortable.

Tessa was observing Marigold and Daisy very carefully. Marigold was too sweet, too kind, too thankful, in Tessa's opinion.

Prim and Katniss were discussing their pregnancies. Even though Katniss was over a month behind her sister, she was almost as big.

"My baby is so active!" said Prim. "He doesn't stop kicking at all. Do yours have any specific personality traits?"

"It's hard to tell, because there are three of them in one body. So I'm not so sure."

"I promise you, mine's a boy. I'm absolutely positive," said Prim.

"Do you want to know the gender?" asked Katniss.

"I'm not sure. Mom says says that we can find out at any time, so I'm not too worried about it."

"What gender does Rory want?"

"He's conflicted."

"Why?"

"Well, on the one hand, he's used to boys. Remember, he was born in between two boys. But he also wants a baby girl to be his little princess. So he doesn't really care. I'm not sure if he wants to know the gender or not, though. What about you?"

"We really want – well, it's closer to need – to know genders. With three little babies to name and care for, it'll make things easier to have names and stuff picked out ahead of time."

"Good point."

"I can't believe you're going to be a mother in a matter of months!"

"I know," replied Prim. "It's scary to know that a little human will be dependent on me in a matter of months."

"I had that feeling when Dalia was born, but I got used to it. Babies are so darn cute!"

The sisters smiled.

(line break)

Dinner was over, the kids were in bed. Tessa had finished moving in to the nursery, and flopped onto her bed.

She opened her laptop. Tessa was about to use the only tool on the laptop she hadn't yet used – the search engine.

In the little box, Tessa typed, "Marigold Hawthorne". A biography of her popped up, which Tessa began to scan.

"Marigold Hawthorne, nee Glae," read Tessa. As she continued to read, her eyes popped open.

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Tessa. She grabbed a notebook and wrote down a few key facts.

_Marigold is the daughter of the daughter of President Snow. Her cousin (and best friend) died in the Capitol's Hunger Games._

_Marigold was an OB/GYN. If one of her patients was having multiples, she would lie to the mother and take one of the kids as her own. Many times, she would neglect or abuse the children, and many would not survive to age 10. She was barren._

_She despises Katniss Everdeen._

"I have to warn Katniss!" exclaimed Tessa. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the wall between the nursery and Dalia's room. Dalia had, apparently, figured out that Tessa had moved in to the nursery.

"What is it, Dalia?"

"I can't sleep."

"Oh."

Tessa went from her room into Dalia's room.

"You can't sleep, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"

"Do you know one?"

"Yup. This lullaby had been passed down through my family for generations. Since before Panem even existed."

"Whoa."

Dalia snuggled up against Tessa's side. The older girl rubbed the younger girl's back, and began to sing.

_Tender shepherd, tender shepherd,_

_Let me help you count your sheep._

_One in the meadow,_

_Two in the garden,_

_Three in the nursery fast asleep._

_Tender shepherd, tender shepherd, _

_Watches over all his sheep,_

_One, say your prayers and_

_Two close your eyes and_

_Three safe and happily fall asleep._

Dalia was fast asleep. Tessa kissed the girl on her forehead, and felt a ripple of warmth go through her body.

"Sweet dreams, little one."


	13. Chapter 11: Compare and Contrast

_Date: October 6__th_

_Place: Capitol_

PING!

"Someone woke up," exclaimed Glimmer. She ran over to the wall to check.

Rue, busy beating Hazel, Janaya, and Penny at Sorry for the eight straight time that day alone, whipped her head to Glimmer. "Who is it?"

"74F8," said Glimmer, as she made her way back to the group. "Savannah... I can't pronounce her last name. It's read M-O-U-R-O-N, but I doubt that someone would be dumb enough to name their kid Moron. Anyway, she's 13."

Glimmer sat down again next to Marina on the other side of the game board.

"I bet her last name is actually Moron," joked Rue. "I mean, anything can happen. Tessa's last name is Stalk."

"Yeah, but Stalk isn't a bad LAST name when paired with a good FIRST name," Finch pointed out, looking up from her book. She was laying on a couch near Hazel, Janaya, Penny, and Rue. "Tessa Rae is just a bad name to pair with the last name Stalk. Moron is an AWFUL last name in the first place. Imagine someone calling you Moron all day!"

"True..." said Rue.

"I think she's coming to Twelve with us," said Penny. "That will be fun."

Suddenly, Rue sunk into a thought. It was very clear that she was out of it, because when Hazel took her piece, she didn't react at all.

"Rue, you OK?" asked Marina.

"I was just thinking about what it would be like to be a Career."

"If you want, there are a bunch of people here who could tell you."

"Could you guys?" she asked eagerly.

"Sure," said Glimmer. "I actually know what it's like in Two as well as One. Two is actually the most strict of any District."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They're basically the Capitol's lapdogs! Anything they want or need, they get. And nobody is poor there. Contrary to popular belief, there are some poor people even in One."

"How does their Career Academy work?"

"Well, it's EXTREMELY organized. Each person is required to enter the Academy. They have four hours of school and four hours of training every day. Each person is analyzed based on their potential when they enter, and they are reanalyzed every year. A month before the reaping, all students of reaping age are analyzed on all counts. One student is elected as the primary volunteer. That student is instructed to volunteer when the escort asks for volunteers BEFORE the slip is drawn. Should that student not volunteer for any reason, whether it be cowardice or having to take care of their family or whatnot, there are three secondary volunteers who are on the hook for AFTER the name is read. The student who doesn't volunteer, should that happen, is not allowed to go up for volunteering the next year."

"That's strict."

"The organization is great there, though. They have a bunch of classes going on at different times in both the gym and the classrooms. Each student can be bumped up or down based on their performance, though. I have no clue how the numbers work, but I know that getting moved in a school class may not affect your training classes, etc. But I know that they care about the training much more than the education. And you do know that the Games are occasionally rigged towards D2 tributes."

"Yeah," said Hazel. "Are Academies that organized in One?"

"Sort of. Our Academy isn't mandatory, but it is attended by over 75 percent of the district. It's more of an after-school program than a school, like in Two. We have more general classes rather than specified, tailored classes. Rather than having one selected volunteer, we have a list of people who could volunteer. Any of them would do our district proud. Usually, there are kids from age 16 to 18 on this list. Fifteen-year-olds do come up on the list every now and then, but not very often."

"Anyone under that age?" asked Penny.

"Well, rarely ever. I really have only seen five fourteen-year-olds, and maybe two thirteen-year-olds. But I've seen ONE twelve-year-old ever."

"One?"

"One."

"Tell me about her!" exclaimed Rue.

"Well, her name was Blaze. She must have had something done to her, because she was hard as a rock. She was probably the best student under 15 at the Academy that year. I was only 6 or 7 when that list was posted. If she'd waited a little bit longer to volunteer, she would have won without a doubt. But she volunteered at age 12, and died."

"Was she given a hard time?"

"Heck, yes! The eighteen-year-olds were furious! They wanted to go in, and they couldn't."

"Why'd you volunteer?"

"Well, I was known as Gemma Lawrence's sister. Most of the teachers liked me, and a lot of the kids admired me. I also had potential, and was pretty strong with most weapons. So, when everyone saw my name on the list, they knew it wouldn't be a problem if I volunteered. So I did. And I did my best."

"I'm sure you did."

"What's the academy like in Four?" asked Rue.

"Well, life in Four is a bit more complicated. You see, in Four, we think a little bit more about jobs than training. The eldest son in each family is expected to take on the trade or job of the father. So, for example, if the father fishes for cod, so does the oldest son. Same with the oldest daughter, who is expected to take on the trade or job of the mother. Any other kids can choose anything they want. Obviously, each kid must complete education, but some of these younger kids go to the Career Academy. Therefore, only about 25-55 percent of the kids of reaping age or under actually go to the Career academy. Therefore, some years, you have a lot of people who are ready to volunteer, and sometimes, there's nobody. That's what happened this year. On the guy's side, Sebastian is the oldest son in a family where the father is a bait-maker. The nice thing about Four is that every job is equally important, but the job of a bait-maker just might be the most important. Sebastian was training in the craft, and, as you know was reaped. I am the fourth child in a family of seven, so I had an older sister and brother to take on the family trade; therefore, I was able to train."

As Marina was talking, a faint PING could be heard from the list, but nobody heard it.

"Interesting. What about the kids that don't take on their parents' trade or train?"

"Well, they do apprenticing to other trades. My best friend, Alex, is the son of a salmon fisher, but he is the third son. So he went to a boat-maker and learned from him. Now he's actually a pretty good boat-maker. Apprentices usually train under men who have no sons or females who have no daughters.

"Boy, the culture there is amazing!"

"Yup. I really love it there. The smell of the sea is so comforting."

Suddenly, the doors slid open. A youngish girl with sandy brown, curly hair and hazel eyes entered the room. She noticed the group of girls, and went to join them.

"Hi," she said timidly.

"Hi!" exclaimed Hazel. "You must be Savannah. Welcome to the group!"

Savannah smiled.

"Got a question," asked Rue. "How do you pronounce your last name?"

"Mu-RON," she explained. "Everyone asked me about that. What did you guys think it was?"

"Moron," Rue sheepishly said.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone says that the first time they meet me."

Savannah sat down next to Rue.

"Tell us a bit about yourself. What was your life like at home?"

"Well, I'm not sure if you know this, but Eight pretty much began rebelling right after the Hunger Games started. Nobody in our district ever liked them. The thing is, the Capitol knew exactly who the rebel leaders were, at least most of the time. One of those leaders was my father.

"The Capitol's punishment for those leaders was was not death, though that's what you'd think. Our reapings were always rigged so that the children of rebel leaders were reaped. I could have been reaped last year, but there was another discovered rebel leader with an 18-year-old, and they wanted to punish him.

"I had two brothers, Austin and Dallas, who were eight when I was reaped. They were so cute. I really missed them a lot while I was in the Games. There's really not much else to tell."

"Did you have a mother?" asked Rue.

"Yeah. She was really nice. She always would give us a little cookie in our lunchboxes at school."

Suddenly, Savannah looked around. "Did any boys wake up yet?"

"Yeah, three of them, but they're off doing something boyish. I think Sebastian and Jason are trying to teach Techno how to swim, but he doesn't want to learn at all."

The girls continued to talk and get to know each other. Savannah was really beginning to feel comfortable in this group.

Suddenly, the doors slid open again. A tall, muscular, dark-skinned boy came in. Rue recognized him immediately.

"Thresh!" exclaimed the young girl, and she flew into his arms.

"Rue," he laughed, and swung her around.

"When did you wake up?" asked Rue.

"Just a bit ago."

"How do we know who wakes up?" asked Savannah.

"Come with me," said Marina. She led Savannah over to the list on the wall.

"Did you get your ID card yet?"

"Yeah, it's right here," said Savannah. She took it out of her pocket.

"Well, this number right here is your tribute ID number. It has your Games number, 74, your gender, F, and your district, 8. If you look on this list, you can find your tribute ID number here. See that?"

"It says I'm awake."

"Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"So it did its' job. The list basically shows each tribute's name, age, ID number, and status: IP, meaning in progress, Coma, Awake, or Districts."

"Cool!"

"So, if you want to know the status of anyone, just look them up. If they're not on the list, they haven't been started."

Savannah scanned the list. She read the last line on the list.

"Ivory, Dreamcoat, age 13. 73F8... District 8 female from the 73rd Games?" Marina nodded. "IP, so in progress... she must have just been started."

"Bingo! See how easy it is to get this?"

Savannah nods eagerly.

"Are the people here nice?"

"Of course. Everyone is supportive and helpful. You'll love it."

"I hope so. I just want to go home!"

"I don't think you'll be able to go home, but I do know where you are going."

"Where?"

"District 12."

"Why there?"

"Well, the Victor of those Games was Katniss Everdeen. As a Victor, she's been asked to help with the resurrection process because she is a Victor. I don't know if there's a pattern, but I think she'll be taking in girls 12-15. There's actually already a girl there. And she'll be calling right about..."

"Marina! Tessa's calling!" yelled Rue.

"Now."

The two headed back to the couches where they found Rue's laptop open. Tessa was on the screen.

"Hiya, Tessa!"

"Hey, Marina! I heard that someone else woke up!"

"Yes. This is Savannah."

Savannah waved to Tessa, who waved back.

"What's your tribute ID?"

"74F9. You?"

"74F8."

"Oh, nice. What are you doing right now?"

"Playing with Dalia, Katniss's daughter. She's really sweet. I adore her."

"How old?"

"Five."

"Cute!"

"How's Ken?" asked Glimmer.

"What can I say? He has learned the art of a temper tantrum."

"Oh. That's bad."

"The bigger problem is that he is INSANELY fast. He can run away incredibly quickly! The last time he cooperated was the day of Jazzy's wedding."

"Did you ever tell us about it?"

"No, I didn't. Oh, the wedding was wonderful! Everyone got the timing perfectly right. Jazzy looked lovely. I was so happy to see how happy she was."

"That's good."

"Dalia! Tessa! Dinner!" yelled Katniss.

"Gotta go," said Tessa. "We'll talk tomorrow?"

Rue nodded. "Bye!" she said, and closed her laptop.

"I like Tessa," said Savannah.

"Wait till we get to live with her," replied Rue.

* * *

**First off, it warms my heart that so many of you have been reviewing to get me to update. It means that you're really reading and that you care about my writing, which is exactly what an author wants to hear. However, you have to understand that I have homework, so updates might not be so consistant for that reason. Kk?**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one will be up within two weeks. And please submit to my other story!**

**-goldie031**


	14. Chapter 12: Two Pieces of News

_Date: October 17_

_Location: District 12_

* * *

Katniss had arrived at her OB/GYN appointment. She was a bit nervous, because her mother had said that she had big news for Katniss.

Once she arrived, Katniss went into her room and waited for her mother.

"Hi, baby."

"Hello, Mom. How's the doctor thing going?"

"Good, honey. Shall we take a look at the babies?"

"We shall."

Katniss's mother rubbed more of the blue gel on Katniss's stomach. Then, she rubbed the wand on her stomach again.

"Well, everything seems to be going well. All three are healthy. Now, I have some good news for you."

"What?"

"Your gender test results came back."

"Already?"

"I guess that the people there felt that the Mockingjay shouldn't have to wait. Anyway, do you want the results?"

"Sure."

Katniss braced herself.

"Your are going to have three darling baby girls! Congratulations!"

"Three girls? What are the odds of that?"

"Very low, but you've always beaten the odds, Katniss."

"True."

The two fell silent.

"Have you given any thought to names yet?"

"No. We waited until we could figure out the genders. But we have a lot to think about now, and I'm sure Tessa will be able to help us."

"Oh, that reminds me," said Mrs. Everdeen, as she bustled around, preparing some tests. "How is Tessa?"

"She's good. She's settled in perfectly fine."

"Have you heard anything from Paylor about anyone else?"

"No, which is odd. Tessa's been with me for about a month, and nobody else has come."

"I'm sure you'll get something soon. Now, lie down..."

Katniss's mother performed a few more tests on Katniss.

"You're done, baby. I'll see you when I get home."

"Love you."

Katniss walked back to her house. She took out her key and fit it into the lock.

"Tessa! Ambera!"

"Hey, Katniss!" exclaimed Tessa from the dining room, where she and Ambera were working. "How was it?"

"Well, I'm gonna have three girls."

"Wonderful! I think," said Ambera. "Congratulations."

"Thank you. Did anyone call while I was away?"

"No."

The phone suddenly began to ring. Katniss picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Katniss. This is Paylor."

Katniss went into the living room and sat on the couch. "I was expecting a call from you. What's up?"

"Well, we're sending a few more tributes your way."

"That's good. Tessa's lonely. Which ones?"

"Penny, 74F10, Rue, 74F11, and Glimmer, 74F1, will be there first. We need to keep Savannah, 74F8, for a few more tests, but then she'll be on their way. Finch, 74F5, is coming to Twelve as well, because that's where we have found her family."

_Finch,_ thought Katniss. _OH! That makes sense! That little girl, Finch, in Dalia's class must be related to that older Finch... Foxface._

"Why are they specifically coming here?"

"Well, let me go from the youngest to the oldest. Rue's parents actually really wanted her back, but they've aged, and can't really care for her. Her siblings mostly have families of their own, and those that don't are still in the care of her parents. So, since 11 and 12 are right next to each other, Rue will be staying with you, but she will travel back and forth to 11 repeatedly."

"All right, so it's not that her parents don't want her, but that they can't care for her. I'm glad she'll be able to see her family. Continue."

"Glimmer has passed counseling, which makes her safe to go to your house. In fact, we're sending her to you for safety."

"Huh?"

"Districts 1 and 2 can be difficult on tributes who don't win. And especially because Glimmer is not a Career the way that One wants – or wanted – her to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Glimmer's father forced her into volunteering due to his greed. She said that she wasn't really into being a Career, but after her strong oldest sister won, her father became abusive and greedy. So, he forced Glimmer's next older sister, who was much more timid, to volunteer. Though she was a Career, she wasn't strong enough to win, and died. Glimmer's father then got greedier and forced Glimmer in. Glimmer, though stronger than her younger older sister, didn't have her heart in being a Career, and, though she did a good job, as you know, was eventually beaten."

"Why's she coming here, then?"

"Like I said, we're sending her to your house for her safety from both her father and her district. Don't worry, she's been in counseling for weeks, so she'll be fine."

"Are you SURE?"

"As sure as I'll ever be."

"Now, what about Penny? She's on the older end."

"Well, she's also being hidden for protection, but a different kind. Penny's father was involved in an illegal meat trade, which, in 10, is punishable by death. Penny was a junior associate in the trade, so we're scared that the people in 10 will kill her as well. So, it is for her safety."

"All right. I can't wait to meet them all! And to see Rue again..."

"I know. Goodbye, Katniss."

Paylor hung up.

"Hey, Tessa!" Katniss said, going back to the dining room.

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your laptop?"

"Sure," she said, "I'm almost done with Ambera, anyway. Although, I'm not sure why you'd need it..."

Tessa gave Katniss her laptop. Katniss noticed that it had a beige cover over the top part of the laptop.

"Probably because she's from 9," Katniss murmured, and opened it up.

After turning it on, she went to a baby names website. She began to search a few names.

"I wonder what Peeta will say. But I do feel bad for the girls when they get to dating age."

* * *

"Daddy's home, Mommy!"

"Hi Daddy! Did you bring me a cupcake?"

"No, Dalia, I didn't."

Peeta went into the kitchen, where Katniss was finishing up dinner.

"What are we having?"

"Meat. Steak and mashed potatoes, and chicken nuggets for the kids."

"How'd the appointment go?"

"Well, I'm due with three girls."

"Really?" Peeta swept Katniss up in a hug. He was clearly thrilled.

"Yes. And that means you're gonna have to let Dalia date before age 20."

"Fat chance. Have you looked at names yet?"

"A little. It's so hard, because there are so many people that we can name them after, but none of the names fit."

"Well, we've got... how long?"

"Four months at least. Mom says that my due date is April 28th, but she expects them to come out between February 28th and March 25th."

"All right. That's plenty of time. Do you have any ideas?"

"Let's talk about it after the kids go to bed. Oh, speaking of which, more kids from the Capitol are coming."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Which ones?"

Peeta grabbed a glass and filled it up with water. He began to drink.

"Well, only three are staying with us. Rue, Penny, and Glimmer."

Peeta did a spit take.

"GLIMMER?! She's a flippin' Career!"

"Relax. I'm the Mockingjay. Paylor wouldn't send anyone to me that could kill me. She went through therapy and passed. I trust Paylor."

"Now, what about the fourth girl?"

"You know Finch, the little redhead in Dalia's class?"

"Yeah."

"Remember Foxface?"

"Yup."

"It turns out that Foxface's family moved to 12 after her death to get a new start. Finch is coming here to reunite with her family."

"How sweet. Does Tessa know?"

"Not sure, but I'll tell her, and our kids, at dinner. Speaking of which, can you check on the kids outside?"

"Sure."

Peeta headed outside.

"Tessa! Dinner!" yelled Katniss.

"Coming!"

Tessa headed downstairs.

"What are we having?"

"Steak."

"Yum!"

Tessa grabbed five plates and set them out on the table. She then grabbed silverware, napkins, and glasses and quickly finished setting everything up.

"Ready!"

Peeta came in with Dalia and Kenneth. The five sat down to dinner.

"How was your day, Dalia?"

"Good. Me and Finch..."

"Finch and I," corrected Tessa. "We're doing prepositions now."

"Whatever. Finch and **I** played a fun game."

"What game?"

"Chase the Max."

"Did Hannah play?"

"No, she was playing with Bella."

"Who's Bella?"

"Another girl in my class. She's nice."

"Well, I have two announcements to make," said Katniss. "First of all, I went to OB/GYN today."

What's an obgyn?" asked Kenneth.

"It's a special baby doctor."

"Isn't that Gramma?"

"Yeah. Anyway, she found out the genders of my babies."

"Can you tell us? Can you tell us?" exclaimed Dalia.

"Well, I'm due with three girls!"

"YAY!" exclaimed Dalia.

"No!" exclaimed Kenneth.

"I know, buddy. We're going to be outnumbered."

"I want a brother!"

"Well, Max can be like your brother, and maybe Aunty Prim will have a baby boy."

"Maybe."

"We're gonna have to hold our own, Ken," said Peeta.

"You said you had two pieces of news," said Tessa.

"Yes," said Katniss. "Tessa, this one probably concerns you most. Tomorrow, there will be three more girls coming here from the Capitol."

"Yes," whispered Tessa.

"The three are Glimmer, Rue, and Penny."

"Good! It'll be fun," said Tessa. "When will they be here?'

"Not sure. But I do know that they'll come after lunch. Make sure your room is ready, all right?"

"Got it."

The five finished up their meal. Dalia and Kenneth went upstairs to get ready for bed.

"Would you mind going up and getting the kids ready for bed, Tessa? Peeta and I want to get a jump on names, and we want to keep it a secret."

"All right. I presume you'll be using my laptop?"

"Yes."

Tessa headed up the stairs. Katniss opened up Tessa's laptop on the dining room table; Peeta sat down next to her.

"Let's get started."

* * *

**Sorry this chapter took me so long, but for once, I have a good excuse. I'm currently celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover. On 5 of the 8 days of the holiday, I can't use any electronics or write. As a result, I am greatly hindered in getting a chapter up. I'll try to get the next one up ASAP, but I still have three no-writing days left.**

**I hope you liked the chapter! This is sort of a two-parter; the second part will be up soon.**

**-goldie031**


	15. Chapter 13: The Name Game

Date: October 17th

Location: District 12

* * *

"What do you think we should name them?" asked Peeta. "It was hard enough to choose one name at a time, much less three."

"Well, I think we should make a list of what exactly we want from their names. This way, we can narrow down exactly what we want."

"Good idea."

Katniss pulled up the word processing software on Tessa's computer. She began to make a list.

"So, what do we want to include?" Katniss asked.

"Well, I want a bread name."

"A bread name?!"

"Yeah. My brothers were named Graham and Rye. It sort of runs in the family: Graham, Rye, Peeta, Cinnamon. It would mean a lot to me to name a baby girl after one of my big brothers."

"Sounds good." Katniss typed on the document, "1. Bread."

"Now, what do you want, Katniss?"

"A flower. Just like it connects you to your family to name one of our baby girls after bread, it connects me to my family to name one of the babies after a flower. You know about mine and Prim's relationship."

"Perfect." Katniss typed, "2. Flower."

"I also think," said Peeta, "that we should name at least one after someone who we lost 'thanks' to the Hunger Games."

"Good idea," said Katniss, and the idea was subsequently added to the list.

"Let's start looking," said Peeta, "or we'll run out of time. Did you pick any out yet?"

"Well, I started looking for names earlier today. I found a pretty name that is completely unrelated to any of our ideas, Melodie."

"That's a pretty name," agreed Peeta. "I like it. Did you find a flow name?"

"Yeah, the stereotypes. Rose, Lily, Ivy. That sort of thing."

"Maybe we can use one of those. Let's see what makes sense with some other names."

"What kind of bread name are you thinking of?"

"Well, the only one I can think of for a girl is Riley. We could spell it Ryely, but there is really no other good bread-related name."

"I actually like that," thought Katniss. "So we have Melodie and Riley."

The two then spent a few moments looking through more names. Suddenly, Katniss had an epiphany.

"Peeta, David you notice that Riley and Melodie rhyme?"

"No, but now I do. What's your point?"

"Well, what if we can find a name that rhymes with Riley and Melodie, and those can be their first names!"

"Good idea! But what rhymes with Riley and Melodie?"

The two began searching again.

"What are we going to do about the name of someone we lost?" asked Peeta.

"That's the problem. There aren't really any good girl names. I was thinking Lavinia, but now I don't think it'll fit."

"Yeah, I agree. And the others are odd, like Seeder, Wiress, and Mags."

"And we can't name them after people from our first Games, because now they're coming back."

"Which means the Victors from the 75th Games might come back to, so that makes things more difficult."

"What about someone who we lost indirectly to the Games?"

"How about Cinna and Portia?"

"I don't know. Cinna was so special to me. I still haven't completely gotten over his death."

"Maybe, if we have another kid, we can name him/her after Cinna."

Katniss looked at Peeta. "We'll see."

Suddenly, Katniss pounced on the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" asked Peeta.

"I know the name we should use. Daria."

"Daria?"

"Darius was one of the Peacekeepers I was closest with in 12. He was that Avox that you saw tortured and killed. I used to trade with him. Daria is a variation of that name."

"I like it. So we have Riley, Melodie, and Daria picked out. What else do we need?"

For another thirty minutes, Katniss and Peeta looked at name after name after name. They debated each name, pondered it, passed it back and forth, and, most times, ended up not liking the name and therefore disregarding it.

"What about Bailey?"

"Bailey?"

"Yeah. It rhymes with Riley and Melodie."

"What does it mean?"

"Nothing really relevant; I just thought it sounded pretty."

"Well, it does sound nice, and it does rhyme. So, the first names for our baby girls are Bailey, Riley, and Melodie. Which name do we put Daria with?"

"We can figure it out later. Hey, look at this pretty name. Dawn."

"I like that," said Peeta. "Now we have five names, but we don't know what goes where. One more."

"We still need the flower," said Katniss. "Should we go stereotypical?"

"Maybe. Probably not, though."

"Check this out! A list of flower names!"

"Which ones do you like?"

"Acacia and Zahara."

"Zahara?"

"Zahara. It's a Hebrew word meaning flower."

"That's pretty. What about this one, Senna?"

"So we have Melodie, Dawn, Riley, Daria, Bailey..."

"I like that! Melodie Dawn, Riley Daria, and Bailey whatever-we-pick-for-a-flower."

"I'm leaning towards Senna, because it's like Cinna."

"All right. Melodie Dawn, Riley Daria, and Bailey Senna it is! I think we picked out lovely names."

"I agree."

Suddenly, the phone rang. Katniss picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Katniss. It's Aubree."

"Hi, Aubree! How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. Paylor just wanted me to call you and tell you some things she told me.

"All right. Shoot."

"Paylor has put each tribute into one of 5 groups: girls 12-15, boys 12-15, girls 16-18, boys 16-18, and Careers. Each of five Victors will be taking in one of these groups: you have younger girls, I have younger boys, Annie has older girls, Johanna has older boys, and Enobaria has Careers. You follow me?"

"Yeah."

"So, each tribute will be sent to the Victor who fits their age. But, if you have a Victor living in your district you'll go there. So, for example, Sebastian from 4 is only 12, so he should go to me, but instead, he'll go to Annie."

"I see."

"The exception is if your family has moved. So, Finch, 74F5, should be going to my district, but since her parents moved to 12, she'll go to live with you for about a week or two and then go live with her family. Got it?"

"Yeah. Is that all?"

"I think so."

"How's Phoenix? How old is he now?"

"Phoenix is 3 now, and he is doing very well."

"That's good."

"Mommy! Ready for bed!"

"Gotta go put Dalia and Ken to sleep. Tell Phoenix I say hi, and I'll see you soon."

"You too."

Both Victors hung up. Katniss went upstairs and lulled her children to sleep.

* * *

Rue tossed and turned in her bed. She simply couldn't sleep. That day had been a long day, but she was nervous for what the next day would bring.

Rue turned to look at her roommate, Savannah. Savannah was sound asleep.

Rue turned on the light by her bed. She picked up her diary from her nighttable, opened it, grabbed her pencil, and began to write.

_October 17th_

_Dear Diary,_

_I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote in you! My last entry is from the end of September, and now it's October 17th! And a lot has happened since then._

_I guess it's impossible to talk about what's happened since September without talking about who has woken up since I last wrote. It's a lot of people, too. And they're all from my Games!_

_On September 30th, Ash Birchwood from 7 woke up. He's super-tall, super-tan, and super-muscled. He was a bloodbath tribute in my Games, but he really should have gone farther. He is so strong! I don't really know him that well, though, because I'm the youngest girl and he, at age 17, is one of the older boys._

_On October 6th, Savannah Mouron from 8 and Thresh from my district woke up. Savannah's really nice, and very close to my age. Thresh is a lot like my big brother, and he does look after me quite a bit. The problem is, he calls me "Squirt". I am NOT a SQUIRT!_

_In reality, though, I don't think I'd be able to make it very far without Thresh. He really took a liking to me during the Games, but considering I was one of the most important people in 11 before the Games, I think he knew who I was._

_Then, Cotton Roberts from 8 woke up on October 9th. He's 16, while Savannah is 13, but he does look after Savannah, much like Thresh look after me. They have more of a friendly relationship, while mine and Thresh's is like siblings._

_Two days ago, on October 15th, Marvel Quarin from 1 woke up. That scared us a lot, because he's a Career. The funny thing is, Glimmer was right. Don't tell him I said this, but HE. IS. AN. IDIOT. I don't even know how he knows how to hold a knife. I don't know how he passed 3rd Grade!_

_Tomorrow, I'm moving over to District 12. Earlier today, President Paylor called Penny, Savannah, Glimmer, Finch, and I into her office. Apparently, they need more room here, so they're sending us to the Victor's houses as sort of transport points, and then, hopefully, I'll go HOME! What I hear from Paylor is that my parents want me back, but they physically can't care for me, so I'll be shuttled back and forth. I understand that, but I do hope I can see them again._

_I can't wait to go to Twelve, though. Katniss will be there! I'm excited to see her again; it's been so long. I've heard that she has kids, and is having more. I can't wait to meet them._

_Finally, I'm feeling tired. I'm going to go to sleep now. I'll write in you tomorrow._

_Rue._

Rue put her diary back on her night table. She turned off her light, and, within minutes, she was fast asleep.

* * *

"Rue. Rue! WAKE UP."

"What is it, Savannah?"

"You need to be ready to go. You're leaving in three hours."

"Right."

Rue got out of bed. She found an outfit laid out for her: a brown shirt and black jeans. Her three suitcases that she'd packed the day before were on the floor, along with her backpack.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Nearly. I just have to put my diary and laptop in my backpack, and then I'm good."

"I'm going to miss you, Rue."

"You'll probably get another roommate soon enough. But I'll miss you too."

"Does you know who is staying here?" asked Rue.

"Ash, Thresh, Cotton, Marvel and I. Everyone else is heading out."

"Good luck with all the boys."

"Thanks. We can communicate via laptop, though."

"That's true."

The two headed out to the main area. There, practically everyone else who had woken up so far was there. The only ones who weren't were Marvel, who was separated from the rest of the tributes, and Techno, who was still asleep. Rue took some breakfast, and sat next to Savannah to eat it.

About 20 minutes later, after Techno had awoken and eaten, President Paylor came in.

"All right, everyone. Listen up. We're going to begin the transport process. The way this is going to work is, we are going to get you into your transport groups, and then we'll send you out at the same time. Each of you will have various Peacekeepers and Avoxes to help you with your suitcases. I will not be able to travel with every transport, so the oldest on each transport will receive this little device. When you get to your destination, click on the little button on the bottom of the device. It will start a video call with me so I can talk to the Victor you are staying with. Now, listen carefully.

"Transport 1 is going to District 12. This transport includes Penny Robins, Glimmer Lawrence, and Rue McClellan. The three of you will be living with Katniss. Finch, your family has moved to Twelve, so you will be going with this transport. You will live with Katniss for about a week, and then you will go to live with your family.

"Transport 2 is going to District 4. That transport will consist of Sebastian Aronig, Marina Laria, and Janaya Randilz. You will be living with Annie Cresta. The two of you who lived in 4 pre-Games will most likely be able to go back home before you, Janaya.

"Transport 3 is going to District 5. This is the smallest transport, as it consists of Techno alone. Techno, you will be staying with Aubree Lune.

"Transport 4 will go to District 7. This transport consists of Jason Braolin and Hazel Acacia. You will be staying with Johanna Mason.

"Ash, Thresh, and Cotton, you will eventually be going to District 7; Savannah, you will be going to 12. Clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now, prepare for departure."

Everyone exchanged hugs and goodbyes. Then, the tributes who were going out on the transports went to their rooms, grabbed their backpacks, and followed Paylor to the roof.

"Now, does everyone have their ID cards, laptops, and diaries?"

The ten tributes nodded.

"Good. Glimmer, Techno, Marina, and Hazel, here are the video-call devices. Remember, press that button when you get to your destinations. Now, Transport 1, your ship is on the far left, Transport 2, center left, Transport 3, center right, and Transport 4, far right. I wish you all the best of luck."

The tributes exchanged hugs and goodbyes again. Rue, Glimmer, Penny, and Finch boarded the ship on the left, and soon enough, they were off.

"How long is this trip?" asked Rue.

"A really long time. You might want to settle in."

Rue did just that. She curled up on a seat, and began to dream about her new life.

* * *

**I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long, everyone! I'm still regrouping after Passover, and I haven't really hd a lot of time to write because my teachers gave me a lot of homework after spring break.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you all like the names I picked out.I didn't actually have names solidified until Wednesday, which made things a little difficult to write this chapter...**

**Please review, and please submit tributes to my other story,The Capitol Games! I am in desperate need of tributes.**

**-goldie031**


	16. Chapter 14: TWO Finches?

Date: October 18th

Location: District 12

* * *

"Tessa!"

"What?"

"Is your room ready? Penny, Glimmer, Rue, and Finch are coming today."

"Finch? Isn't she going to live with her family?"

"Yeah, but she's going to be here for about a week."

"Got it."

"Is your room ready?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Do you know if Ambera is coming today?"

"Not sure. If not, maybe you can help me get ready."

"Got it."

Tessa went up to her room, picked up her laptop, and sat on her bed.

"If I don't have tutoring today," she said to herself, "maybe I can do something else with Marigold. If what I've read is true, she's in big trouble."

Tessa opened up her search engine. She searched, "Wedding of Gale and Marigold Hawthorne". Results popped up almost instantly. The first link led to an invitation.

"Hmm," said Tessa, as she scanned the invitation. "They were married in the fall, three years ago."

Next, she came upon a guest list. Katniss and Peeta were on it, but there was a "T" next to their names.

"T for toddler?" wondered Tessa. She kept looking.

Suddenly, she found a surveillance report.

"I wonder why Marigold's wedding was under surveillance," murmured Tessa. "Oh, wait, now I know. She is President Snow's granddaughter."

Tessa began reading. This report seemed to outline everything about Marigold. She noted down things that caught her eye.

_Marigold already had a daughter at the time of the wedding, named Daisy. If anything happens, keep Daisy safe. She is only three._

_Marigold was 24 at the time of her marriage._

_Her goal was to take out Katniss and Peeta. Dalia was invited to the wedding, but she didn't come; had she come, she would have also been killed._

_Marigold had met Gale the previous year, after retiring as an OB/GYN. After her retirement, she dyed her hair a marigold color, gotten a tan, and altercated her eyes to be green, rather than blue. This was done to disguise her appearance, so that Katniss would not recognize her. Gale had not known Katniss's OB/GYN, as they had lost touch after the rebellion, so he was fooled._

"OK," said Tessa to herself. "It seems that the people who wrote this report knew more than most people, but it doesn't say anything about her habits as an OB/GYN."

Tessa checked the clock. It read 9:50 AM.

"Katniss?"

"Yes?"

"When will Rue, Penny, Glimmer, and Finch be here?"

"Around noon."

"Uch."

* * *

Two hours later, Katniss sat on her porch. She was waiting for the hovercraft to come. Kenneth was playing with Tessa, because he just wouldn't go down for a nap! That was a blessing in disguise, though; this way, Katniss didn't have to worry about Kenneth waking up because of the hovercraft.

In the distance - at least, as much distance as could be had in Twelve - Katniss saw a family of redheads. "Foxface's family," she thought.

"Hello!" Katniss said in greeting.

"Hello. You are Katniss?" said the eldest.

"Yes. Finch will be staying with me for about a week, and then she will stay with you. Would you mind introducing yourselves?"

"No problem. I'm Luna, Finch's mother, and this is Maxim, her father. Robin here was her younger sister, but now she's obviously older. She is married to Kole, the only non-redhead in our family. Robin and Kole have three kids: Finch, Vixen, and Canis. You know Finch; she's in Dalia's class."

"Yes. It's nice to meet you. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Finch for the week she will be with me."

"We're sure of it."

"Where are Robin's kids?"

"Finch is in kindergarten with Dalia, as you know, and Vixen and Canis are home with Kole, who never met Finch."

"Aha. If I were you, I would come onto the porch. The hovercraft is going to land right there, where you're standing."

The three came onto the porch. They began to talk with Katniss. Katniss told them about her children, Dalia and Kenneth. Just as she was talking about Kenneth, he and Tessa came out of the house.

"Kenneth wanted you," explained Tessa. "He said he had to give you the picture."

Kenneth handed Katniss a picture of Prim, Katniss, and their mother.

"Thank you, Kenneth!" Katniss exclaimed. She picked Ken up, and, turning to Finch's family, she said, "This is my baby, Kenneth."

"Hi, Kenneth," said Robin, who tickled the little boy all over. Kenneth giggled.

"Kenneth remembered to bring me a picture that I want to show one of the girls who is coming today. He's such a good little boy," said Katniss.

"Yes, I know," said Kenneth. Everyone laughed.

Suddenly, the roar of motors could be heard overhead. Katniss looked up and saw a big purple hovercraft about to land.

"Ooh!" Kenneth exclaimed. He was entranced by the hovercraft.

"You like it?" asked Katniss.

"Yeah. It's cool! Can I drive one someday?"

"Maybe."

The hovercraft touched down. After it was stabilized, the ramp came out. Katniss held her breath.

The first person to come out was Glimmer. She still had the same long, flowing blond hair and emerald green eyes. But her eyes, once filled with malice, were now filled with regret.

"Welcome!" said Katniss. Glimmer looked into Katniss's eyes, and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry for all I've done," sobbed Glimmer.

"Don't worry, honey. You're safe here. And I'm just as guilty as you are. In essence, I killed you."

Glimmer smiled. She then pulled something out of her backpack and pressed a little button. Soon enough, President Paylor's face popped up.

"Hello, Paylor," said Katniss.

"Hello, Katniss. The tributes arrived?"

"Yes, though only Glimmer is actually out of the hovercraft at this point."

"Good. This device will allow you to communicate with me at any time, should you need it. Now, please send Tessa to the hovercraft; we have to run a test. Please call again once everyone is settled in and the hovercraft is about to take off."

"Got it."

Paylor signed off.

"Tessa, you're wanted on the hovercraft."

Tessa headed over to the hovercraft and headed up the ramp.

"Do you have any suitcases or anything, Glimmer?" asked Katniss

"Yes, but the Peacekeepers will take care of them," replied Glimmer, slightly snobbishly.

Next, Penny came out of the craft, braids and all. "Howdy, Katniss!"

"Hello. You are Penny, I presume?"

"Yup. Boy, it sure is different here!"

"Well, I guess it's all about what you're used to."

The Peacekeepers began to bring the twelve suitcases into the Everdeen house.

Next off of the hovercraft was Rue. She seemed to be looking for someone or something. Her eyes locked on Katniss, and she made a beeline for her former ally.

"Katniss!"

"Rue!"

Rue dashed into Katniss's arms, and the two embraced.

"I'll never let you go again," whispered Katniss into Rue's ear.

"It wasn't your fault, though," replied Rue.

"I know, but I still feel bad about it."

Finally, Finch came out. She was practically attacked by her family.

"Finchie! I'm so glad you're home!"

"I'm glad as well, Mommy. Robin! You've grown so big!"

"I know. I have three kids now."

"Really?"

"Yes. Finch, Vixen, and Canis."

"You named one after me?"

"How could I not?"

The sisters hugged.

"All right," said Katniss to Glimmer, Rue, and Penny. "Why don't you go inside, and I'll give you the tour once Tessa and Finch are done."

The three headed inside. Rue sunk into a couch and curled up.

"Are you tired?" asked Glimmer, rubbing Rue's back.

"No. Just homesick. Seeing Finch with her family reminded me of my home."

"You'll go home soon enough."

Moments later, Finch and Tessa came into the house. "What do you think?" asked Tessa.

"It's huge. Bigger than my home in One, and that's saying something."

"I know. It's huge!"

Katniss came into the house. "Let me show you around," she said, addressing the new arrivals. "The dining room is over there, the kitchen right there there, with an island - if you'd like, you can sit at the island and talk while I make dinner. The living room is over here, with the TV, and my kids have a playroom in the back. If you need, there's a computer in there, but I doubt you'll need it.

"Now, come on upstairs. The first room on the left is the nursery, and the first room on the right is yours. Dalia's room is next to the nursery, and Kenneth's is next to yours. It's very easy to tell which is which; Dalia's room has the pink door and Ken's has blue one."

The girls nodded, and went into their room.

"It turned out great!" exclaimed Glimmer. "Peeta did a great job."

"I know, right?" said Tessa,

"Now, if you want," offered Katniss, "I can help you unpack. Finch, if I were you, I wouldn't unpack, primarily because you'll be here maybe a week."

"Got it," said Finch.

The girls began unpacking. Rue was the one who especially needed the help of Katniss, considering she could barely fold clothes. With Katniss's help, though, each girl managed to fit her stuff into half a dresser.

"Great job, girls. I'll leave you to figure out bunking arrangements, all right?"

Katniss left the room.

"I want a bottom!" exclaimed Rue. "I have no clue how I'm even going to get on the top bunk!"

"Good point. Rue should probably have a bottom. Finch, would you mind taking a top?"

"I don't really care."

"I want a top, too!"

"OK, so Tessa, Rue, and I will stay on bottom bunks, and Penny and Finch will stay on top. Sound good?" said Glimmer.

"All right. Let's finish unpacking."

* * *

_Three hours later..._

"Mommy, Finch, Hannah, Max, and me are home!"

"And I," muttered Katniss under her breath. "Hi, Dalia! Guess what?"

"What?"

"There are more big girls here!"

"Yay!"

Dalia gave her mother a huge hug.

Finch saw her mother on the couch.

"Mommy? Why are you here?" asked the little redhead.

"I was talking with Katniss."

"Oh."

"Glimmer, Penny, Rue, Finch, come and meet Dalia!" yelled Katniss up the stairs.

"Finch? Isn't this Finch?" asked Dalia, motioning to the Finch beside her.

"Yes, but there's another Finch now, a bigger Finch."

"ANOTHER Finch?!" exclaimed Dalia. In her mind, there could only be one Mommy, one Daddy, one Tessa, one Hannah, and one Finch. There could NOT be two Finches!

Tessa was the first to come downstairs.

"Hey, Dalia. Ready to meet some of my friends?"

"You bet!"

The next to come was Rue. "Is this your daughter?" she asked Katniss.

"Yes. Dalia, this is Rue. Rue, this is my daughter, Dalia Rue Everdeen-Mellark."

"You named her after me?"

"How could I not? You were so special to me. You reminded me of my little sister, Prim, while we were in the Games."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Look at this picture. This is me, Prim, and my mother right when I came back from the Games."

Rue looked at the picture. "You're right. I do look a lot like she did."

Next came Finch. Robin gave Finch another hug, and said, "Finch, honey, this is the person whom you are named after. Her name is Finch, and she is my sister, your aunt."

"Hi!" exclaimed little Finch.

Dalia was suddenly extremely confused. Not only were there now two Finches, but they looked almost identical. Both had red hair and amber eyes. They had the same face, the same everything.

"How am I gonna tell which one is which?" she asked her mother.

"Right now, the Finch who lives here is much taller than her niece. It'll be easy until little Finch grows up."

"Ok, I guess." Dalia was still skeptical.

"Finch," Katniss said. Both turned around. "Whoop. Big Finch," she clarified, "This is my very confused daughter, Dalia."

"Why is she confused?" asked Finch.

"She has a very logical brain. In her mind, there is room for one Hannah, one Mommy, and one Finch. Now that there's a bigger Finch, she can't quite figure it out."

"Ah. If you want Dalia, you can just call me big Finch."

"OK..."

Lastly, Glimmer and Penny came down.

"Glimmer, Penny, this is Dalia, my baby girl."

"Hi, Dalia!" said Glimmer.

"Hello!" replied Dalia

"Howdy, Dalia."

"Mommy, what does howdy mean?"

"It's another way to say hello," Katniss explained.

"Oh. Where's Ken?"

"In the playroom."

"K."

Dalia ran over to the playroom. Before she entered, Tessa caught a glimpse of frilly pink something in her backpack.

"Get the camera ready," said Tessa.

(line break)

**All right, this chapter took way too long. I've been really stressed lately, and I haven't really had a lot of time to write.**

**Anyway, most of the chapters from this point on will focus on District 12. I actually was wondering if you guys wanted me to skip a little bit to introduce some of the characters from the 73rd Games or to just keep going at the rate that I'm going. Any ideas?**

**-goldie031**


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